374 THE FLORIST. 



They possess so many interesting qualities, both as plants for decoration 

 and as florist's flowers ; and are, withal, so cheap to purchase and so 

 easy of* cultivation, that it is not to be wondered at that they have 

 become favourites ; and with care they will last for years. They may 

 be made to produce blooms from the size of the wild Daisy to that of 

 the largest Dahlia. They can be grown in 8-inch pots on one stem, in 

 circles 5 feet across, and with from 2000 to 3000 well- shaped blooms, 

 all out at one time ; or in thumb pots, 6 inches in height, for windows ; 

 or they may be trained up on one stem, like standard Roses, pegged 

 down in borders like Verbenas, or trained to stakes from 1 foot to 8 teet 

 high. If the weather is mild, they will furnish the borders with blooms 

 from October to Christmas. They make an exhibition of themselves 

 with which few other flowers can compete. There is scarcely a town 

 of any importance in England that has not had its exhibition of them 

 this year, although this has been the most unfavourable autumn for 

 them these forty years. They will grow in the most smoky and con- 

 fined localities, where scarcely any other plant will exist ; consequently 

 they are, of all plants, deserving of notice. Having had some expe- 

 rience in cultivating them, and being an admirer of the plant from 

 its usefulness for town gardens, I have taken the liberty of giving you 

 my practical experience, together with that of many other successful 

 cultivators, on the mode of growing them. So fond are the London 

 amateurs of this flower, when they grow them for exhibition, that they 

 make temporary frames to put them in, to keep them from the frost and 

 cold, and get a quantity of rushlights and stick up all over the frames 

 to burn all night, to keep out frost, as a substitute for fire in severe 

 weather ; others get inch zinc pipes to construct a small boiler, and put 

 underneath it an oil lamp, to heat their little quart boiler ; in fact, they 

 try all kinds of cheap contrivances to prepare their little productions for 

 the show table, and in all cases succeed ; so much so, that they take the 

 public by surprise when their plants are exhibited. 



For cut blooms, the most successful growers cultivate in 12-inch 

 pots. They take the old root, and, shaking off the mould, and selecting 

 three or four of the strongest suckers, put them in 5-inch pots in silver 

 sand and loam. In February they are placed in a cold frame till well 

 rooted ; they then give them another shift to a larger pot, with compost 

 consisting of forest loam and turf chopped up small but not sifted, well 

 decomposed cow-dung, and a little sand, with good drainage. When 

 the weather becomes mild they are placed in a sheltered sunny spot, 

 and each shoot secured to sticks, watered moderately, and when the 

 plants are well rooted they are repotted into the blooming pot, not over 

 watered through the summer, as they try to ripen the wood as soon as 

 they can. They select the strongest branch to take the flower bud 

 from, never selecting the first bud, but trust to the third where the 

 plant is very strong, which shows itself in August. All side shoots are 

 taken off after they are an inch long, except the two or three leaders 

 that are kept to take the flower buds from. When the bud is taken 

 all other laterals are removed, and a rough turfy top dressing is given 

 to keep the roots from being exposed to sun and air. Liquid manures 



