256 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



this way : Take a pan about a foot in diameter, fill it with water, and then put a 

 few pieces of brick in the centre to stand the pot on, and to raise the bottom of 

 tlie pot half an inch above the level of the water. Stand the plant on these, and 

 cover with a bell-glass large enough to rest on the sides of the pan ; give air by 

 tilting up the glass, and keep in the warmest corner of the house. This must be 

 regulated according to the weather. In dry hot weather, when the house is thrown 

 open rather wide, keep the glass rather close ; and when the atmosphere is close, 

 and the house partially or quite closed, give plenty of air by tilting up the glass 

 higher ; shade from the sun, but take care not to entirely shut out the light. It 

 should have plenty of water through the summer, with less through the winter 

 months. At all times, the higher the temperature the plant is grown in, the more 

 moisture will it require. The pan sliould by dry from October to Marcli ; and if 

 the temperature is likely to go down too near the freezing-point, it will be a capital 

 plan to cover the glass with a warm woollen material. The main point to be 

 observed in the culture of the Cephalotus is to pot in some light fibry stuA"" through 

 which the water can easily circulate, and the roots have free action, and it may be 

 said that tliere is nothing better than a mixture of rough sandy peat and sphagnum 

 moss chopped up rather small. This, with a good drainage, will grow them to per- 

 fection. Fill the pot half full of crocks, and in potting elevate the plants just 

 above the level of the rim, and fill in rather firmly. With careful attention to the 

 few points we have mentioned, you will experience no difficulty in cultivating it 

 satisfactorily. 



C. N. L., Torquay. — The shrub is Weigelia rosea. 



Mrs. II. — Your plant is the variegated variety of Common Wormwood, a 

 good thing for a dry rockery. 



A Young Beginner. — Bulbs of the Tree Onion may perhaps be obtained of 

 Messrs. Sutton and Sons, Reading, who, if they can supply them, would tell you the 

 price. You might also try Messrs. Barr and Sugden, 12, King Street, Covent 

 Garden, W.C, or Messrs. J. Carter and Co., 2?,7 & 238, High Holborn, W.C. 

 The flower enclosed in your letter is from one of the fancy Pelargoniums, but from 

 which variety we cannot undertake to say, for naming florists' flowers is quite out of 

 the question. The cuttings are not very difiicult to strike when properly managed. 

 In taking the cuttings, select the shoots produced this season, and cut tlum up into 

 portions consisting of two or three joints each, the top joint to have a small shoot 

 pushing from it. The tops of the shoots may also be made available for cuttings 

 if taken off just below a point where the wood has become firm. The plants must 

 be placed in the open air for a fortnight or so, previous to the cuttings being taken 

 to ripen the young wood. When the cuttings are prepared insert them round the 

 sides of five-inch pots, filled with light sandy soil ; shade them during the first 

 week or so, and keep the soil just moist. When nicely rooted pot off separately ; 

 winter them in a rather warm corner of the greenhouse, and keep them rather dry 

 at the roots. In February pinch out the growing point of the principal shoots, 

 and shift into pots one size larger. The calceolaria cuttings can be kept through 

 the winter in a cold frame, or under hand-lights, with no more protection than 

 that afforded by a mat thrown over the glass in frosty weather. 



Carnations for Winter Flowering. — A Co7istant Reader. — In the Floral 

 World for October, 1868, p. 302, appeared an article on the cultivation of carna- 

 tions to flower in winter. The remarks quoted referred to the winter flowering 

 kinds mentioned at the end, and intimated that they may he had in bloom during 

 the winter season. The other varieties bloom during the winter. 



Gathering Everlastings. — M. S. — All everlastings should i)e gathered before 

 they expand fully. To preserve the whiteness of the white ones, we suppose atten- 

 tion to the rule just given to he of the first importance, and, next, to keep them 

 always protected from dust. The white everlastings of the shops are probably 

 bleached by means of sulphur vapour. The coloured flowers can be dyed a deeper 

 tint by means of Judson's dyes, which can be procured of most chemists and grocers. 

 Vines on Open Wall. — Amateur. — To secure fine bunches thin them regu- 

 larly, removing the bunches entirely where thej' are crowded together, and thin- 

 ning out the berries in the hunches with a small pair of scissors to allow them to 

 swell. The bunches must not be thinned too much, or they will be loose and fall 

 about when placed upon the dish. The best fruit is that which ripens under the 

 shade of the leaves, but if the vine is overcrowded, it will benefit it to remove a 

 moderate number of the laterals. 



