THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 341 



of that day, and recommends thinning the buds and watering with 

 liquid manure, as practised at the present day. On account of their 

 delicacy, the idea of growing them in open borders was abandoned, 

 except against south walls, while we have improved varieties suffi- 

 ciently acclimatized to flower freely in the open borders. 



CuLTiYATioN IN THE BoEDEK. — The bcst mode of managing 

 them in the border I have found to be the following : — Remove the 

 plants after cutting them down, and put them in close together in a 

 sheltered part of the garden, covering them with a framework of 

 thin laths to guard them from frost. When grown sufiiciently (say 

 four inches long), take off the suckers, and put them in small pots, 

 in liglit sandy loam, on a south border, in rows, protecting them 

 from frost, and giving just enough water to keep them growing. If 

 you can put them in cold frames, so much the better. Then dig 

 up the border two feet deep, mixing a little rotten dung with a 

 good dressing of fibrous turfy loam forked in eight or nine inches 

 deep. Let it lie rough for the winter to sweeten. Plant out in the 

 end of March, if the weather is favourable, giving to each plant a 

 good handful of cocoa-nut fibre, which keeps the worms from it till it 

 is well rooted. Plant the strongest suckers two feet apart, taking 

 care the sparrows do not peck out the crown. Take off" all side 

 laterals as they throw out, till they show the second flower-bud. 

 In July retain the three shoots thrown out from the crown, and take 

 all side-shoots from the three branches, as before, till the flower-bud 

 shows itself. Mulch the borders in August with cocoa-nut fibre, 

 leaf-mould, or dung. Water with weak liquid manure from the 

 1st of August till they show their colours ; and do not allow the 

 plant to starve for want of plain water, as this throws them back, 

 and when recovering they are apt to make a second growth, which 

 prevents them blooming so early. Cover them over the first week 

 in October, to guard against frost ; and if you have a frame for 

 putting on a glass, they will bloom much finer and cleaner than 

 with canvas. All buds not showing colour in October are of little 

 use, as they seldom come to maturity in November ; and it is gene- 

 rally so cold that the work must all be done in September and 

 October for border blooming. If against south walls, they will 

 bloom much finer, as they are not so liable to the draughts as under 

 canvas. If grown in eight-inch pots, they must be treated in the 

 same manner as in borders, except that they require a stronger 

 liquid manure, with good drainage ; and if the water does not pass 

 freely through, force through the mould a thin wire all over the pot 

 to open a drainage. 



Cultivation in Pots. — The following is the method adopted 

 by me in the culture of large varieties in five-inch pots from cut- 

 tings in June : — Last year I purchased all Mr. Salter's and Mr. 

 Bird's new varieties. They were delivered to me in May, and I 

 planted them out in the borders on receiving them, and allowed 

 them to get naturalized to the smoky atmosphere for three weeks, 

 which brought them up to the first week in June. I then took 

 the tops oft' three inches long, and put the cuttings into 60-sized 

 pots, one in each pot, draining the pot with a little cocoa-nut fibre, 



