84 THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. [April, 



Its culture is very simple. It will grow in any liglit, rich soil ; a compost of 

 loam and peat with, a little rotten dung and sand suits it admirably. Tlie tubers 

 should be potted about the beginning of September, about which time they 

 generally begin to grow, in pots six, eight, or ten inches in diameter, according 

 to the size of the tubei'S. The pots should be well drained, and the tops of the 

 tubers should be level with the soil when potted. The wire trellises, of what- 

 ever shape or form they may be, should be fastened to the pots immediately 

 after the tulsers are potted, and should be made quite secure, so as not to move. 

 One or two pieces of small sticks should be placed across the trellises at bottom, 

 about an inch above the soil, for the j'oung shoots to rest on ; this is better than 

 lotting them lie on the soil. When the shoots are sufficiently long to 1)0 tied 

 to the trellises, great care should be taken not to tighten them too much, as they 

 may break off with any sudden jerk the trellises may get ; great attention should 

 be paid to the training of the shoots as they advance in growth ; the plants 

 should be looked over every morning, and any shoots that require it should have 

 a tie ; it is better to attend to them daily than to allow them to go for a few days 

 untied, as they run up the wires and are not easily loosened without injury. 

 Great care should also be taken to keep the shoots well tied about the bottom 

 part of the trellises, to get the whole neatly and properly covered. The plants 

 should be frequently turned about, if globe-shaped or cylindrical trellises be used. 

 They will bear a low temperature without much injury, but they do best in houses 

 where the temperature is never allowed to fall below 45^. Much water will not 

 be required for some time after the tubers are potted, nor until they begin to 

 root freely ; it should be given carefully during the winter months, but as the 

 spring advances it should be given freely. The plants will then grow rapidly, 

 and if proper attention is paid to the training they will be objects of great beauty 

 towards the end of April, and will continue so till the end of June. 



After they have done flowering and have died down, the tubers should be 

 taken out of the soil and put into some dry sand, in any cool dry airy place, 

 where they will be safe from mice. Here they may remain until the following 

 September, when they should be again potted and treated as before. It is advis- 

 able to look over them occasionally, and especially during August, as they may 

 begin to grow before they are potted, and when this happens it is not easy to 

 pot them without breaking the young shoots. I believe the principal reason 

 why this plant is not more grown, is the difficulty which some have in increas- 

 ing it* ; but as the plant seeds freely, there should be no difficulty in increasing 

 it. The seeds are sometimes a long time in the soil before vegetating, which 

 leads people to think they won't grow. But if the following plan be adopted, 

 there will be no difficulty about getting them to grow. Steep the seeds for 

 twenty -four or thirty hours in cold water, then with a penknife take a small bit 

 of the outer covering off, sow them and place the seed-pots on the hot-water pipes 



* We have been informed that young tubers may be obtained to any extent by simply layering the young 

 shoots round the sides of the pot in which the main tuber is growing, repeating the process from time to 

 time as the shoots lengthen. — T. M. 



