182 THE FLORIST. 



alone, then it will be better to keep it with New Holland plants until 

 March, and then excite it in a gentle heat, and by the beginning of 

 September it will be found to be a valuable addition to the conserva- 

 tor}* until Christmas. It is most valuable for cut-flowers, as its 

 scent is agreeable to most persons. 



CULTURE OF THE CALCEOLARIA. 



BY MR. CONSTANTINE. 



I make my first sowing about the middle of July, and another about 

 the first of August, in pans half-filled with drainage, and then filled 

 up with a mixture of about two-thirds light loam, the rest peat and 

 leaf-mould in about equal proportions, with a good sprinkling of silver 

 sand, all sifted tolerably fine; the pans must then be thoroughly 

 watered, so as to wet every particle of soil, and allowed sufficient 

 time to drain before sowing; the seed may then be sown thinly, and 

 a little finely-sifted soil scattered very lightly over it. The pans may 

 be placed beneath a hand-glass under a north wall, or in any other 

 shady situation, and kept tolerably- close until the plants make their 

 appearance. The pans must be kept moist, merely sprinkling with a 

 very fine rose-pot : great care is required here, for if they are at all 

 heavily watered, the seed, being so very fine, is all carried away with 

 the water. When the plants make their appearance, more air may be 

 given them ; as soon as they will bear handling, they should be 

 pricked out into other pans (prepared in the same manner), about 

 two or three inches apart. They will soon make nice little plants, and 

 may then be potted oft" singly into three-inch pots, using a mixture 

 of about two-thirds tolerably light turfy loam (not sifted), the rest 

 leaf-mould and dung from an old mushroom-bed, in about equal pro- 

 portions, with a good sprinkling of sand ; they may then be placed 

 in a cold pit, and allowed plenty of air. The plants will soon pro- 

 gress rapidly ; as they fill their pots with roots they must be 

 shifted into larger sizes, until they are in 8-inch and 11 -inch pots, 

 which are large enough for any Calceolaria ; they must be frequently 

 fumigated to keep down green-fly; all they require through the 

 winter will be to keep the frost from them ; let them have plenty of 

 air, and at the same time keep them rather dry at the root than 

 otherwise. 



As the spring advances, and as the plants fill their pots with 

 roots, more water may be given, occasionally using weak clear 

 manure- water. As the plants increase in growth, let the shoots be 

 pegged down on the soil ; they will root into it, and help the plants 

 considerably. According to the time they are wanted to be in flower, 

 let the shoots be stopped, or otherwise those that are not stopped will 

 be in flower early in May, while those that are stopped will come into 

 flower probably a month later ; and now comes the time to repay us 



