1871.] STANDARD -TRAINED MIGNONETTE. 211 



east, and screened from the mid-day sun, I believe a situation answering to 

 this description to be the most favourable while the plants are young ; indeed, 

 until they are well advanced. 



The soil should not be allowed to get dry on any consideration, nor be made 

 suddenly wet, but kept naturally moist by occasional sprinklings until the 

 seedlings have appeared above ground. The same treatment may be pursued 

 until they are ready for potting off, with the additional look-out against the 

 plants shrinking through the influence of an over-dry atmosphere. This must 

 be prevented likewise by sprinklings of water after hot sunshine. 



When the seedlings have made two pairs of leaves, no time should be lost 

 before getting them transferred singly into thumb-pots, using the same compost 

 already described for seed-sowing. It is most important to be careful in this 

 operation ; too much soil cannot adhere to the roots — the more the better, to 

 enable them to establish themselves in their new quarters and prevent a cessation 

 of growth taking place. Let the operation of raising the seedlings out of the 

 bed be performed by the help of a pointed stick, making a roomy hole in the 

 centre of the soil of each pot to freely admit the root, press the soil gently to the 

 roots, and after all are potted, plunge their pots in a shallow box among sand 

 and return them to their former quarters, shading for the first few days, and of 

 course not neglecting to water well after potting. 



For a week or two water will comprehend the main wants of the plants in a 

 well-aired house, but probably in a few more days their small pots will be full of 

 roots, when pots of larger dimensions ought to be given them, say those of 4 inches 

 diameter. After this shift, plunging in boxes may be dispensed with, and in a 

 short time side-growths will make their appearance ; these must be displaced as 

 soon as the point of the knife can conveniently reach them without damage to the 

 foliage. Flower spikes will also soon be formed, and they must be pinched off, 

 and the nearest side-shoot made to substitute the part pinched as a leading shoot. 

 Besides supplying each plant with a light stake to support the stems in their 

 upward growth, continue tying the growths in an upright direction until they in 

 their turn show flowers, which ought again to be removed, and the nearest lateral 

 growth taken for a leader. 



Throughout this period of time and growth, fresh shoots will most persistently 

 be thrown out at the axils of the leaves, while the leaves themselves will go on 

 increasing in dimensions and substance until they arrive at probably four times 

 their natural size. These leaves, when preserved, make a fine furnishing to what 

 would be otherwise naked unsightly stalks. 



By the end of May it will be advisable to change the plants from the green- 

 house to a cold frame, where shading must be attended to, so that the foliage 

 may not be blotched by powerful sun, only allowing the sashes to be brought 

 over the plants in extremely cold, windy, or rainy weather, and removing them 

 again when the weather has altered for the better. 



Eepot into pots two sizes larger on every occasion that the roots net their balls, 

 until finally they occupy pots of 10 inches diameter. Further, as regards soil, 

 let this be given in its rough state (unsifted), using the same ingredients to form 

 the compound as first perscribed after the second shift. 



When the height desired has been arrived at, pinch out the centre of the 

 shoots and permit laterals to grow, thin only a few inches down the stem while 

 carefully removing all others as they appear. By the end of August the most 

 advanced require umbrella-like wire canopies. These frames are quite cheap, and 

 can be had from any wire-worker; the sizes of those we use are from 18 inches 

 to 2 feet diameter. As some danger of breaking the stems of the plants attends 



