iSyi.] GLOXINIAS. 401 



and blotching the leaves, and attend carefully to their wants in the 

 way of water. 



In this stage they will grow rapidly and make fine foliage, spreading 

 over the surface of the pots and curling over their sides. They will 

 soon show signs of an abundant crop of bloom, and as the flower-stems 

 are thrown up and begin to open, care must be exercised that they are 

 not subjected to a parching arid atmosphere or sudden bursts of bril- 

 liant sun. They will flower most satisfactorily in a moderate stove 

 temperature where 65^ is the maximum night -heat, but may be 

 bloomed in a house considerably cooler ; but the flowers will not be so 

 fine, and are more subject to damp off prematurely. Managed thus 

 they will bloom splendidly for at least two months, and a packet of seed 

 sown in January will keep up the succession till autumn. 



When they are done blooming, do not withdraw water and send 

 them prematurely to rest, but keep the foliage healthy as long as pos- 

 sible, so as to have a large well-matured bulb for next year. It is 

 presumed that only the best varieties are selected for keeping over the 

 winter. Withdraw water by degrees, and when the leaves have all 

 decayed in their natural order, dry them off entirely, then shake them 

 entirely out of the soil, and store them either in a large flower-pot or 

 pan mixed and covered up with dry sand, and place them for the rest- 

 ing season in any dry place where the temperature ranges from 55^ to 

 60''. This is less trouble than storing them in the pots in which they 

 bloomed, and a far more certain way of keeping them without any 

 decay or loss among them. 



It may be observed that the multiplication of any fine variety is 

 easily effected by taking leaves with part of the stem attached and 

 putting it in a pot of sand, like a cutting, in bottom-heat — each leaf- 

 stalk produces one strong bulb. But if numbers be required, nick 

 the midribs of each leaf and peg it down closely on the surface of the 

 sand, and at each wound or incision a young bulb is formed. 



The time to start bulbs into growth must be determined by the time 

 at which they are required to bloom. Those started early in February 

 will be in full bloom in May, and by starting a number of bulbs at 

 three or four different times, a fine bloom of Gloxinias can be kept up 

 for a great part of the year. 



They thrive best in a rich sandy soil, such as has been already 

 recommended, and the pots should always be well drained, as they 

 will not thrive if the soil becomes the least water-logged and soured. 

 Avoid over-potting even large bulbs. A 6 or 7 inch pot will grow 

 an immense size of a plant. And it is best to start them in smaller 

 pots and shift into fresh soil as the pots become moderately filled with 

 roots. Gloxinia. 



