68 THE FLORAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



both for house decoration and exhibition. In pottinjr, the bulbs are 

 merely pressed on the surface of the soil. The compost used is a 

 mixture of equal parts fibrous loam, .turf)' peat, and leaf-mould, with 

 about a half part of silver-sand. The bulbs are potted firm, and have 

 little or no water till growth has commenced. They are put in a moist 

 bottom-heat of 60^ to 70', and. as they make free growth are liberally 

 supplied with water. As fast as they fill the pots with roots, they are 

 shifted on, and may be flowered in 5-inch or 7 -inch pots, accordinu to the 

 means at command and the wish of the cultivator. Very nice plants may 

 be bloomed in 48-sized pots, but as Gesnera cmnaharina and zehrina are 

 remarkably beautiful both in foliage and flower, we prefer to flower them 

 in nothing less than 52 size, and to grow a iew specimens to fill 24-sized 

 pots. The best place for ihem in tl;e stove is ihe bark-bed, where, owing 

 to the moist atmosphere, the foliage acquires its full beauty. If they 

 must be placed in a comparatively dry position in the stove they may be 

 occasionally syringed until the flowers show colour, but it is not good 

 practice to syringe any woolly-leaved plants, and should always be done 

 with caution. As they go out of bloom they are to have less water, and 

 the supply to be lessened so that by the time the tof s are dead the bottoms 

 will be dry. They are left in the pots where n( ither frost nor moisture 

 can reach them, until the time arrives for potting them again. The proper 

 temperature in which to rest them is 50^, but if they are quite dry, a 

 temperature of 40° will not harm them. 



GuEENnousE AND Trame Cultuee. — Seeing that a temperature of 60^ 

 is sufficient to start the bulbs, there is no reason why a stock of the very 

 best should not be grown in a common frame or pit with dung-heat. It 

 is as eas}' a task as growing a few cucumber.-^, and there is not an amateur 

 in the country but might have his annual show of Achimenes, Gesneras, 

 and Gloxinias." The matter of first importance for the beginner in this 

 work is to wait till the middle or end of March, so as to be sure of sun- 

 heat to help out the growth. About the middle of March make up a 

 good dung-bed, and soil it over with six inches of cocoa-nut dust. When 

 the heat is steadj- at 70', lay down three inches of peat broken small, but 

 not sifted, and on this press the bulbs in rows across the bed, four inches 

 apart ; shut close, and give no water. The light must be pushed down 

 every morning, and the heat regulated by giving air, if needful, to jDrevent 

 it rising above 75°; if it is at 60' the first thing in the morning, it will 

 be right at all other hours. When a few leaves have pushed, sprinkle in 

 the afternoon and shut-up, and by the time the plants have made shoots 

 three inches long, prepare another bed, or get material ready to line or 

 remake the first bed. We have used grass mowings as linings next the 

 brick wall in pits constructed on the plan frequently reconimended in 

 these pages, and found it a very cheap and efi^ectu d method of raising the 

 temperature at any time. The object of preparing to increase the tem- 

 perature is to allow of the potting, which should be done now, and when 

 the plants are potted they should he replaced, and liave a temperature 

 not less than 75'' to give them a j?ood start. Take them out with a trowel 

 carefullj', and they will lift with fine balls of roots. Be careful not to 

 chill or exhaust them in the process, and lift only a few at a time so as to 

 have them quickly potted and replaced. This method of starting them in 

 the bed produces very strong plants from the first, but it is rather more 

 troubleBQme than putting them separately in small pots and plunging to 



