i88r.] DECORATIVE GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 167 



one for care and attention in its cultivation. Formerly it used to take 

 a somewhat prominent position in our horticultural exhibitions, but 

 for some years it seems to have been quite overlooked : we think this 

 is a pity, as it is just one of those plants most suitable for amateurs and 

 those having small means or limited accommodation for storing plants 

 in winter, and who are yet desirous of having a few flowering-plants, 

 at a small cost, during summer. 



It is not always easy to get a really good strain of Balsam seed. It 

 is therefore best for growers to try and save their own seed, when a 

 good strain is obtained, which is very easily done, as the Balsam seeds 

 very freely. The best flowers should alone be reserved for seed-bear- 

 ing. If kept from moulding, the seed will keep for an almost indefi- 

 nite time. (It is really astonishing how long some kinds of seed will 

 retain their powers of germinating, if kept under proper conditions. 

 As an instance, last season some Lobelia seed which I bought failed 

 to come up, and I sowed a second time with seed that had been saved 

 in 1877, and I may say that it came up as thickly as Lobelia seed 

 usually does, the percentage being seemingly quite as great as that 

 obtained from fresh seed. It is a well-known fact that seeds lie dor- 

 mant in the earth for an indefinite time, until the proper conditions 

 are presented to call them into active life. How often has this been 

 exemplified in the making of railway cuttings and embankments, where 

 soil is exposed to the action of light and air which may not have been 

 so exposed for centuries, and yet in a short time they have become cov- 

 ered with verdure, and plants have been known to spring into being 

 which before had not existed in that locality !) 



Seed of the Balsam should be sown during the month of February, 

 or early in March, according to the time they may be wanted to flower. 

 Sow in a properly drained pan in leaf-mould and sand, two-thirds of 

 the former to one-third of the latter : cover the seeds lightly, and set 

 the pan in a warm pit or vinery. Cover the pan with a piece of glass 

 until the seed begins to vegetate ; but as soon as the seedlings appear, 

 remove the glass and set the pan as close up to the light as may be 

 convenient, in order that the young seedlings may not get drawn up, 

 and weakly in consequence. When they have made two pairs of leaves, 

 pot them oif singly in 3-inch pots, as deep as convenient ; but in 

 pressing the soil gently, take care not to bruise the stems of the young 

 plants, which at this stage are very tender, else they may damp ofl' 

 altogether. They should still be kept as close up to the glass as pos- 

 sible in order to keep them dwarf and stubby. They will get drawn up 

 a little in spite of all one can do, but this can be rectified at the next 

 potting, which should be as soon as the small pots are well filled with 

 roots ; and now they should be shifted into 7-inch or 8-inch pots, using 

 roughish loam, leaf-mould, and sand, with a layer of old manure over 

 the crocks : set the ball of the plant on the top of the manure, and 

 then fill in the soil, pressing it moderately firm about the ball. A good 



