i879-] DECORATIVE GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 405 



to the neck of the plant. They ought always to be grown near the 

 glass, however, and a free circulation of air about them will tend 

 to make them sturdy and independent of support — though, of course, 

 favourable opportunities for giving air must be taken advantage of. 

 After the middle of May they may be inured to a lower temperature, 

 and about the end of June they may be set in a cool pit, or in a cold 

 frame set on a bed of ashes, and liberally aired through the day, but 

 the lights kept on at night. Some of the stronger plants may be shifted 

 into 6-inch pots, which is quite large enough to flower them in, though 

 some shift them into 8-inch pots. Still, as good plants can be grown in 

 the smaller pots, and they are easier managed, some of them should be 

 retained in the smaller pots : they will bloom earlier, and may be suit- 

 able where 6 -inch pots would prove too large for the purpose. They 

 must be carefully watered after being shifted into the larger pots, and 

 kept somewhat close for a few days, and shaded from bright sunshine, 

 till they take with the shift, after which they may be aired liberally. 



The best batch of Primulas we ever grew, and as good as we have 

 ever seen, was grown in a cool pit, set on a shelf against the back wall 

 and close under the ventilation, which was the old system of sliding 

 sashes. The plants throve amazingly in this situation, and were very 

 sturdy as a matter of course ; and the flowers, for size and depth of 

 colour, were the admiration of all who saw them. After the pots are 

 pretty well filled with roots, they will be benefited with an occasional 

 dose of clear soot-water : this makes an excellent manure, and puts a nice 

 healthy green appearance on the foliage such as few other things in the 

 way of liquid manure can accomplish, It is also a safe manure to use, 

 if nothing but the clear water be made use of, after having had the 

 soot steeped for, say, four-and-twenty hours or so. The plants may 

 remain in the cold frame or pit until about the beginning of October, 

 when they should be removed to a warmer situation, say a warm green- 

 house. The nights during the month of October get rather raw and 

 cold for them to stand out longer with safety, as the leaves might turn 

 yellow and drop off. A temperature of about 50° will be amply suffi- 

 cient for them now, however, and about 5° more through the month of 

 November, and onwards during the time they are in flower. 



A pinch of seed should also be sown about the beginning of June, 

 proceeding in the same way as described above : the glass which covers 

 the pan may be shaded slightly until the seed vegetates, when the 

 shading should be removed and the glass tilted up. When the young 

 seedlings are ready for potting off, let them be put into small pots ; and 

 when they have got established, they may be grown on in a close frame 

 or pit through the summer months, and this will make them nice and 

 hardy, and able to stand over the winter well. They will require to 

 be shifted into larger pots some time during August, and we do not 

 advocate a larger size of pot than 4 or 5 inches for this batch. They 

 will bloom during the spring months, and prove very useful. 



