12 THE FLORIST. 



most suitable to them at the season in which they are removed. I 

 have Btruck cuttings in May, potted them off in July, and kept them 

 all the autumn and winter until the following 

 April or May ; I then removed them into a stove or a vinery, or any 

 convenient structure where a good brisk heat was maintained ; I 

 grew them quickly by keeping them constantly potted and topped in 

 a temperature ranging from 65° to 70°; and daily syringing- them 

 over head with clean water. By the end of July, or the beginning 

 of August, they will have made sufficient growth and the plants 

 have attained "a size that will insure a fine bloom the following 

 spring ; at this season they will require some preparation for ripen- 

 a ir wood, which must be effected by diminishing the tempera- 

 ture, and partially the moist atmosphere, and also by giving more 

 air to the house ; when it is perceived that their growth is retarded, 

 and that the points of their shoots are beginning to get hard, it may 

 then be safely inferred that they have set their bloom-buds; but until 

 this is quite apparent keep them where they are, or they will not 

 bloom. Always pay the greatest attention to this point; never be 

 guided by anyday of the month, or opinion from any neighbour who 

 may say, " It is time your Azaleas were turned out of doors." Look 

 after the state of your plants, and be directed by their appearance ; 

 and if you are not certain that their bloom-buds are perfect in the 

 tops of their shoots, as 1 said before, keep them where they are. 

 Many persons make a point of putting their plants into heat at a 

 certain time, without looking whether they are ready for it or not, 

 forgetting that one season they may be in right condition for their 

 winter treatment some time before they are in another, and that 

 some varieties are ready for this much earlier than others ; it is 

 therefore certain that no stated time can be given for this part of 

 the proceedings ; just watch the growth of your plants, and as soon 

 as you perceive them to be sufficiently forwaid, and the points of 

 their shoots plump and hard, you may then with safety subject them 

 to a cooler temperature ; and if the weather continues warm and fine, 

 they may be removed to a nice shady place out of doors, and there 

 remain until the proper time arrives for housing all kinds of plants. 

 Should there be any sudden change in the weather, however, such 

 as heavy drenching rains or frost, lose no time in placing them in 

 their winter quarters, which should be a nice cool greenhouse or 

 vinery, giving them plenty of air and keeping the house cold and 

 dry through the- winter; but never allowing frost to enter, as I have 

 seen splendid plants of Azaleas completely ruined by either allow- 

 ing frost to touch them, or leaving them out too long in autumn ; 

 and heavy rains falling continually upon them will cause the blooms 

 in spring to be crumpled up or deformed, wanting both colour and 

 shape. In the beginning of the new year, where bloom is required 

 to keep up a show in the conservatory or drawing-room, no tribe of 

 plants is more suitable than the Azalea ; by selecting some that have 

 their buds most prominent and placing them in heat, you m-iy keep 

 up a succession of bloom from February until July; but of course 

 when plants are required for succession so long, when the season 

 arrives that we get more sun, instead of placing them in heat, they 



