60 THE FLOEIST AND POMOLOGIST. [March, 



the soil slightly falls from the stem to the sides of the pot. This should be 

 attended to in the cultivation of all hard-wooded plants, as the reverse condition 

 often leads to their loss, from the -water lodging round the stem. Pot rather 

 firmly. Place the plant in a cool airy greenhouse, and pay strict attention to 

 watering. Take the tops off all the stronger shoots as soon as free growth begins. 

 This plant should never be subjected to the shading process, but be thoroughly 

 exposed to light and sun. By the end of June, place it in the open air, where the 

 foliage will soon become stiff and bronzed in appearance from exposure, and the 

 wood well ripened. From the middle to the end of August flower-buds will 

 begin to be formed ; and by the end of September, the plant should be removed 

 to the greenhouse, and treated as above directed. 



By this mode of treatment fine large floral bracts of almost horn-like sub- 

 stance, beautifully veined and striped with red, will be produced ; and these will 

 continue in perfection for eight or nine weeks. If mildew should make its 

 appearance, dust the plant immediately with sulphur, or the foliage will soon be 

 destroyed. Genetyllis Hookeri, a somewhat more slender plant, will succeed 

 equally well under the same treatment, and the flower-heads of this species 

 continue in perfection as long, or even longer, than those of Genetyllis tulipifera. 



Somerley Gardens. J. Chilman. 



CELERY FOE EXHIBITION. 



^f HE neighbourhood of Nottingham has long been noted for the gardening 

 skill of its artizans, one of the special hobbies of the district being the 

 growth of Prize Celery. This specialty has lately formed the subject of a 



^ef lengthy article by Mr. W. P. Ayres, in the gardening department of the 



Notts Guardian, of which article the following is an abstract : — 



"The largest and finest-formed Celery is that called Hooley's Conqueror, the kind with 

 ■which the champion grower, Mr. Hooley, has succeeded in conquering all competitors. It is 

 a red Celery, remarkable for its broad, thick, fleshy leaves, which are almost free from ribs or 

 corrugations, and is the result of careful selection for some years. For the cultivation of 

 Celery the ground must be thoroughly drained to the depth of three or four feet, trenched, and 

 enriched to the depth of two feet by the addition of manure and leaf soil, the manurial matter 

 being as intimately mixed throughout the soil as possible. The best way is to trench and 

 ridge the soil in early autumn, mixing the dung as the work proceeds. During the winter, in dry 

 and frosty weather, the ridges should be frequently forked over, and in March or April they may 

 be levelled down, and trenches for the plants prepared. These must be 4 ft. apart, and dug 

 out 20 in. deep and 12 in. wide, and should run north and south. The bottom of the trench 

 must be trodden quite firm, and S in. of perfectly decayed but rich horse-dung trodden firm, 

 placed in it. The soil being then returned, the trench is ready to receive the plants. The reason 

 for placing the dung so low, is that the roots may get to it and feed upon it just at the time 

 when the centre leaves, those that will be blanched for exhibition, are pushing up. To 

 produce plants for the early October exhibitions, the seed is sown early in April. A slight bed 

 of hot dung must be made up to receive a small frame or hand-glasses, covered with good soil, 

 and the seed sown thinly. When the plants have two or three leaves they are to be planted 

 in nursery beds prepared by treacling a piece of ground tolerably firm, and placing on it about 

 4 in. thick of rotten horse-dung and leaf-mould in equal proportions, which, being trodden 

 firmly, is covered with an inch of rich fine soil. The plants must be put out in lines 4 in. 

 apart, each being pressed firmly. Properly cared for, they will be fit to be transplanted to the 

 trenches in two months from the time of sowing, say by the end of May. Then each trench 

 must be forked over a full spit deep, and the plants put out a foot apart, preserving every 



