100 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



are the most suitable ; and in preparing them, place two or three 

 inches of crocks in the bottom, and then fill with a light compost 

 consisting of equal paits loam, sand, and leaf-mould. In this mixture 

 the young seedling will root freely, and at the proper moment may 

 be lifted with a fine tuft of roots. Make the surface level, sow the 

 seed regularly, and cover with about a quarter of an inch of soil. 



The best place for getting the seed up quickly is a mild hot-bed ; 

 but if the pots are placed in a sunny position in the greenhouse, and the 

 soil kept in a nice moist state, there will be no difficulty in inducing 

 the seed to germinate quickly. Whether in the pit or the green- 

 house, the plants must be placed within a foot of the glass when they 

 are fairly above the surface, and be potted off singly as soon as the 

 first pair of rough leaves are developed. Much depends upon the 

 manner in which this is done ; and to do this nicely, prepare a 

 sufficient number of small sixties by putting two or three pieces of 

 crock and a pinch of the roughest portion of the compost. Have in 

 readiness a mixture of two parts loam, one part leaf-mould or 

 manure, and a dash of sand. Lift them out of the seed-pot with a 

 ■wooden tally, and pot carefully to avoid bruising the stem, which at 

 this stage is exceedingly soft and tender. Sprinkle them moderately 

 with tepid water, after the potting is completed ; and during the 

 first two or three days afterwards keep them rather close, and shade 

 during brilliant sunshine. The shading must not be employed a 

 day longer than is really necessary, because immediately the roots 

 begin to push into the new soil, the plants will commence to grow 

 freely, and unless fully exposed to the light, the new growth will be 

 soft and long-jointed. A genial bottom-heat will at this stage be 

 of great assistance in promoting a vigorous growth, but most satis- 

 factory results can be obtained without its aid, and it is not needful 

 to provide it specially for them. If the progress made is satisfactory, 

 they will have filled the pots sufficiently full of roots to render it 

 necessary to shift them into larger pots in about three weeks after 

 they are potted off singly. At this shift use five or six-inch pots, 

 according as it is intended to flower them in eight or ten-inch sizes ; 

 and in this matter the cultivator must be guided by the regulations 

 of the schedule of the exhibition at which it is intended to exhibit 

 them. If intended simply for home decoration, the smaller of the 

 two sizes can be the most strongly recommended. The final shift 

 ■will become necessary immediately these pots are nicely filled with 

 roots, and not before ; for, whilst guarding against allowing them, 

 through neglect, to become pot-bound, they must not be over-potted. 



At the second and final shift use thoroughly clean pots, and place 

 about two inches of rather small crocks in the bottom, to make sure 

 of the drainage being perfect. As the compost must be moderately 

 rich and open in texture, use two parts of turfy loam chopped 

 up roughly, to a part each of manure and leaf-mould. Balsams root 

 freely from the stem, and to keep them dwarf, if they appear too tall, 

 pot them low enough to bury from one to two inches of the stem at 

 each shift. No portion of the side branches must be covered with 

 soil, or they will have the appearance of several plants being put in 

 one pot. 



