1879.] VIOLETS FOR WINTER FLOWERING. 125 



should be lifted with a five -pronged fork and arranged into three 

 separate lots, according to size and appearance — viz., the finest and best 

 rooted plants for pot-culture ; the second best for flowering in frames ; 

 and the remainder to be planted out in a favourable site for giving a 

 later supply of flowers in the spring. 



It will be better to have all arrangements made for the reception of 

 the plants in their respective quarters before they are disturbed from 

 the cutting-bed, in order that the roots may receive no check through 

 any delay. A number of 7 or 8 inch pots will be in readiness for pot- 

 ting — the pots having been clean washed and carefully crocked, and 

 the soil also prepared beforehand. The soil should be a rich pre- 

 paration of yellow loam, with something less than a third of well- 

 rotted manure added ; failing this, if the loam is light, a third of 

 good honest clay which has been pulverised by exposure to the weather 

 should be mixed with the soil : this addition will give body to a light 

 compost, and will render it of a more enduring nature for the roots of 

 the plants to feed on ; it will also moderate the texture of the roots, 

 and work a proportionate influence in the nature of the leaves and 

 crowns favourable to their development for winter flowering. In pot- 

 ting, the soil should be made rather firm round their roots, and from 

 one to three plants put into each pot, according to the size of the pot 

 and other circumstances, which are more matters of personal taste than 

 otherwise. After potting, the plants should be plunged in a cold frame 

 and shaded from the sun for a few days, till appearances indicate that 

 fresh root-action has commenced. Where labour is a consideration, 

 and the work is carried on by hands occasionally employed, or as a 

 pastime by inexperienced hands, it would perhaps be as well to grow 

 the plants in a self-shaded spot during the hottest summer months, 

 where they would require less attention in watering, and where there 

 would be less to dread from the ravages of red-spider, which is a 

 destructive enemy in hot weather. Keeping the roots cool and in a 

 healthy condition, and supplying them with what water they require, 

 "and no more/' and syringing them overhead occasionally, by which 

 the leaves are kept green and fresh, is the surest way of promoting 

 vigour and fertility in the crowns. As the plants grow and increase 

 in size they will produce young runners, which must be kept down 

 regularly, so as not to waste any of their strength in forming lateral 

 growths. About the middle of August they should be more exposed 

 gradually, and taken to a south aspect, where they should be plunged 

 up to the rim of the pot either in coal-ashes or soil ; if in the latter, 

 they should stand on inverted pots, or on rubble of some sort, to keep 

 a clear water-course. It will now be necessary to watch what effect 

 the weather has on the leaves ; and in case there is any appearance of 

 suffering, some slight shade might be given during the hottest part of 

 the day for a week or so, and syringe frequently overhead when it is 

 safe to do so, both mornings and afternoons. The object of taking the 



