14 



THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



extremities of its dangling fronds ; 

 Adianlum setulosum, is in a perforated 

 cocoa-nut shell, and is pushing new 

 crowns through the holes all over it ; 

 and the rather tender Nothochlama 

 teneru thrives in a similar way, but 

 abhors much moisture. 



As to general management, the case 

 has the temperature of an ordinary 

 room, and so long as it is not actually 

 touched with frost, there is nothing 

 in it that will take harm during winter. 

 The soil is kept moderately moist in 

 summer, and dryish at other times : 

 the plants enjoy an occasional syring- 

 ing, and about once a month, the 

 case is removed, the plants trimmed 

 up, and thinned, and scale, if it ap- 

 pears, removed by means of the finger- 

 nail : the use of turps has never been 

 required. 



I might, in the space I have occupied, 

 have treated the subject more ex- 

 tensively in a general way, but to 

 describe what has been done, is better 

 always than what may be done. 



To complete the details, I may as 

 well mention, that Messrs. Treggon, 

 of Jewin-street, fitted the case to the 

 vase and met my views admirably; Mr. 

 Sim supplied me the plants, and the 

 cost of the whole was as follows : — 

 Vase, £4 4s. ; glass case and two soil 

 pans, £4 10s. ; plants, £2 3s. 6d. ; base 

 added since, to prevent the damp from 

 descending the pedestal to the carpet, 

 JOs. ; total, £12 7s. 6d; which, I con- 

 sider a low figure for so beautiful and 

 interesting an object, especially since 

 the plants increase rapidly, and the 

 construction itself is of the most en- 

 during nature. 



»oz-zoooc-:< 



THE CINERARIA. 



As a florist's flower, the Cineraria 



enjoys and deserves a high place ; its 



dazzling, fulgid hues, and its free 



bold blooming at a season when the 



sun 



" Scarce shines through ether the dejected 



day," 

 renders it alike welcome as a green- 

 house and window flower, and as 

 a notable contribution to the spring 

 shows. To grow it to perfection is a 

 task within compass of the poorest 

 florist's means, for it literally detests 

 heat, and the more hardy it can be 

 made by a judicious course of 

 culture, the more bravely does it throw 

 up its glittering trusses of cheerful 

 bloom. 



To grow good specimen plants for 

 exhibition, the compost should consist 

 of two parts loam from rotted turves, 

 one part thoroughly decayed cow dung, 

 one part fibrous peat, one part leaf 

 mould, and sufficient sharp sand and 

 small potsherds to make the whole 

 light and porous. To keep established 

 sorts, the plants must be grown from 

 offsets, and if the plants are cut down 

 after blooming, and repotted into larger 

 pots, or turned out at once into the open 

 border, an abundance may be obtained ; 



but man}' growers prefer cuttings taken 

 off when the young shoots from near 

 the collar arc two inches long ; these 

 are rooted in a compost of powdery 

 peat and silver sand, and then potted 

 off into three-inch pots, in light and 

 moderately rich compost, and from 

 that time forward, they are to be 

 shifted on, as fast as they fill their pots 

 with roots, to encourage them to make 

 broad and ample foliage and stout 

 stems. They ought to be in eight-inch 

 pots before they begin to show their 

 flower-stems. To winter the young 

 stock, a cold frame is preferable to a 

 greenhouse, but they must be well 

 secured against frost, with a substantial 

 matting, and well ventilated during 

 mild weather. About January is the 

 time for the last shift, and after this 

 they may be brought into the green- 

 house to bloom. la preparing them 

 for exhibition, it is next to impossible 

 to avoid the sticks and ties to open out 

 the heads ; this should be done so as to 

 spread them well over the pot, to pre- 

 vent crowding in the centre. The 

 sticks and ties should all be removed a 

 day or two before the show, and the 

 plants ought to have sufficient robust- 

 ness to bear their trusses firmly. 



