THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 357 



flowered specimens in pots is to have the wood of the previous season 

 thoroughly matured ; and to insure this being done, keep the pots 

 plunged in a bottom-heat varying from 70° to 85°. This is of very great 

 importance during the growing season ; and indeed it is hardly pos- 

 sible to secure a well finished plant without the aid of bottom-heat. 

 In the absence of bottom-heat being provided with the aid of hot water, 

 tan or leaves may be substituted, as both will produce a nice warmth, 

 and probably be more congenial to the plants than that from the 

 hot-water pipes. It is important to remember that the greater the 

 body of tan or leaves, the more powerful and continuous will the 

 heat be. As soon as the heat from the tan or leaves is exhausted, 

 take out the bed to the depth of the pots, and renew it, by which 

 means a constant supply of heat maybeobtained throughout theseason. 



The best of all the Bougainvilleas for exclusively growing in 

 pots is B. glabra. B. speciosa will do well, and flower freely in pots ; 

 but to grow it to perfection, it should be planted out in a bed of 

 soil, and trained to the roof, so as to enable its lovely breadths of 

 mauve-pink bracts to hang gracefully down. But as these remarks 

 are only intended to refer to pot-culture, I will not here advert to 

 their management when planter) out in borders. Allow me to recom- 

 mend glabra for summer, and if flowering specimens are required in 

 midwinter, or in early spring and summer, speciosa may be employed, 

 but it may be well to mention here that in purchasing the last men- 

 tioned variety, it is necessary to apply to a firm that may be de- 

 pended upon — Messrs. Veitch and Sons for instance — as it not un- 

 frequently happens that spectabilis — -a very shy blooming species — 

 is substituted for it. 



Many young beginners fail to produce good specimens, through 

 growing in a position where they have an insufficiency of light. 

 Shade is the cause of thin, immature wood, from which it is impos- 

 sible to obtain flowers in any quantity. Therefore, for this reason, 

 the plants during the growing season must have full exposure to 

 both light and sun, and only be shaded to preserve the flowers. 

 Even this is injurious if carried to any extreme, as it materially 

 assists in the deterioration of the flowers. Liquid manure may be 

 administered copiously during the season of active growth, but as 

 the flowers commence to expand, it must be sparingly given, and 

 eventually withheld altogether. Frequent shifts are not by any 

 means necessary, although the plants under consideration are gross 

 feeders. The plan I invariably adopt, with very successful results is, 

 after the plants attain specimen size, to give an annual shift only 

 into as large a sized pot as convenient. I find this, with the assist- 

 ance of liquid manure, quite sufficient to produce large, well-flowered 

 plants. As an example of this, allow me to mention that a plant of 

 glabra here, trained on a balloon-shaped trellis, that has received 

 this treatment, has presented the appearance of a globe of lovely 

 mauve bracts since the first week in June, and is now, November 11, 

 covered with them. 



A thorough season of rest is most important, and from October 

 until March no more water should be given than is necessary to keep 

 the soil from becoming dust dry. 



