THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 77 



sulphur. Whenever damp breaks out, increase the heat, and give 

 more air. 



Do not keep cuttings shut up close any longer than can be 

 helped. Give air as soon as they are able to bear it ; of course, very 

 little at first, and with great care not to chill them. 



After potting, place the pots in bottom-heat, if possible, to pro- 

 mote the formation of fresh roots. Xsver shift till the first pots are 

 full of roots ; then shift without delay, and use the compost proper 

 to the plant. S. H. 



CULTUEE OF THE GLOBE AMAEAXTHUS. 



T,Y .T. CALVERT CLARKE. 



HESE are generally catalogued as half-hardy annuals, 

 but they are extremely tender for that class of plants ; 

 but for indoor decoration they are desirable subjects, 

 and the fact that they are everlastings makes them still 

 more desirable, as when they are cut at the proper time 

 they will last in good condition for bouquets up to Christmas, and 

 later. But apfirt from these considerations, it is equally important 

 to the gardener that he should have varietyo It would be no difii- 

 cult task to make a display even with only one or two members of a 

 genus. But there would be about such an arrangement so much, 

 sameness, that it would have no attraction even for people indifferent 

 about flowers. Therefore, to carry out this system of gardening 

 with any spirit, it is essential that as great a variety as possible 

 should be got together, and the Globe Amaranthus is well worthy 

 to join the ranks. There are, I believe, as many as six colours 

 amongst them ; but, for myself, I consider the four following colours 

 all that are desirable to grow : — White, Eed, Golden, and Elesh- 

 colour. To flower in August and September, they should be sown 

 in light sandy soil, about the end of March, on bottom-heat. When 

 the plants are large enough to handle, prick out three round the 

 rim of a 60-size pot, in a soil composed of loam, leaf-soil, and rotten 

 dung, equal parts. For this potting use silver-sand liberally. For 

 the after shifts use river-sand or road-grit abundantly ; place them 

 as^ain on bottom-heat for a fortnight ; after which remove them to a 

 warm shelf in a vinery or intermediate house. Give them one shift 

 into a five-inch pot early in June, and then remove them to a pit 

 where they can be kept close for a few days. In this structure you 

 can give them liberal culture, as you can give them any amount of 

 air you please, and they require a good deal. You can shade them, 

 if necessary, but, above all, by economizing sun-heat, you can con- 

 vert your pit into a stove for the time being, and so give them the 

 sort of treatment they require. But here I must leave much of the 

 after-treatment to the discretion of the cultivator, as so much will 

 depi'ud upon the result aimed at as to the number of shifts, etc. 

 But I may remark here, that large shifts are their abomination, and 



