THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



83 



mind that as it is necessary that the 

 pots he well filled with roots by the 

 time the plants come into bloom, care 

 should be taken not to overpot. As 

 soon as the lower leaves turn yellow 

 in the spring, a little clear weak ma- 

 nure-water may be used with advan- 

 tage, and be continued until the bloom 

 is nearly ready to expand. Anything 

 like forcing should be avoided, but a 

 little fire-heat will be beneficial in 

 damp, dull, and foggy weather, and 

 also whenever the temperature sinks to 

 near 40 degs. 



Cleanliness is also a very important 

 thing to attend to in the culture of 

 the Pelargonium. No dead foliage 

 should be allowed to remain on the 

 plants, and if the green leaves become 

 dirty or dusty, they should be carefully 

 washed, and the glass of the house, 

 both inside and outside, should be 

 kept quite clean. Fancy varieties 

 require similar treatment to the large 

 kinds ; they will, however, hear a 

 little more heat with advantage 

 through the winter and early part of 

 spring, taking especial care to avoid 

 "drawing" of the shoots. 



As a general rule for both classes of 

 Pelargoniums, health and cleanliness 

 must be attended to, airing well even 



in winter, but avoiding cold draughts 

 of air, and keeping them free from 

 damp. No flower is more easily culti- 

 vated than the Pelargonium, yet none 

 is more generally mismanaged. 



Immediately after blooming, the 

 plant should be placed in any situation 

 not exposed to heavy rains, where the 

 wood can be well ripened, and water 

 be sparingly used. Hard well ripened 

 wood is most essential. After cutting 

 down, the plants should be placed in a 

 greenhouse or frame by themselves, 

 and kept dry, and exposed to the sun 

 and air, using the lights only to pro- 

 tect them from rain. In about a 

 month afterwards, the buds will have 

 pushed sufficiently for repotting the 

 plants ; they can then be shaken out, 

 removing all the soil, and the roots 

 pruned. The plants should then be 

 potted into small pots, and be kept in 

 a close-shaded frame for a few days, 

 and be gradually inured to the light, 

 when more air may be given. AVater 

 but sparingly, and avoid wetting the 

 foliage during the winter months. 

 Yf hen the growing season has arrived, 

 water them thoroughly when they re- 

 quire it. A good head of fine bloom 

 can be obtained by attending to the 

 foregoing few brief remarks. 



DRYING PLANTS AND FLOWERS. 



Your excellent directions, given to " N. 

 IC, ' in page 47, if properly attended to will 

 secure success. But I wovdd suggest an 

 improvement. It is what I practised from 

 twenty to thirty years ago, and my collec- 

 tion is as fresh and beautiful as at first. 

 Prepare several tablets of plaster of Paris, 

 of the size of the book in which you intend 

 to mount your collection ; they should not 

 be less than an inch in thickness. The 

 plaster should not be mixed very strong. 

 The lighter they are, the more absorbent. 

 Any plasterer would prepare them to order. 



When they are thoroughly dry, lay the 

 blotting-paper on the plaster, then the 

 plant, covering it with more paper, as you 

 direct, and then plaster, slab, and so on, 

 forming a pile. The plaster absorbs the 

 moisture from the paper so rapidly as to 

 hasten the process, and thereby preserve 

 the colour. Before the tablets are used 

 again, the moisture must be dried out be- 

 fore a fire, taking care not to expose them 

 to a greater heat than the hand can endure. 

 They will then last for many years. 

 Hanley. L. J. Abingdon, 





CULTURE OF BOUVARDIAS. 



Having growa these succesfully for many 

 y< :i . I bi .: to offer my brother cultivators 

 my mode of culture, it is thus: March being 

 a good time to propagate it. by the roots, I 

 proceed to shake them out of their pots, 

 and cut as many pieces of roots from the 

 plants as are required, placing them round 

 the sides of the pots, in sandy peat, giving 

 them a gentle heat, and in about a fortnight, 



or three weeks at the most, the^e will have 

 become a famous lot of young plants. As 

 soon as they are strong enough, I pot them 

 off, using peat, loam, and sand; giving a 

 little more heat, and then hardening them 

 off. By attending to the above mode, hun- 

 dreds of plants may be produced in a very 

 brief space of time. 



J. C. 



