

FOREIGN NOTICES. 



CiLTiiiE OK Gi.oxiNTAS. — By tliis time the <;^renter jmrt of Gloxiiiiiis will be ^;"iiig to rest, nnd 

 tluis little remains to bo done in their cultivation this year. The object jif Ihc f^rower will 

 now be to pay sueh attention ns their dormant stute require.-*. It is not at all condueire to the 

 future welfare of the j)lants to allow th«m to get into such a dry »*tate as to induce the bulbs to 

 shrivel, for it often causes many of them to decay at the time when they flutuld be excited in 

 spring. During rest, too much care can not bo taken to prevent the access of frost to the bulbs; 

 they aro very sensitive of its influence, showing the sad effect of it upon them when they aie 

 again to be brought into active vegetation; for if the least degree of frost have reached tliem, 

 many will be entirely killed, and should any of them escape destruction, they will flower in a 

 very weak, unhealthy state, and jirobabl}' die dining summer. In fact, they never ought to be 

 exposed to a temperature under 40'' Fuhr. The back shelf of a stove is an excellent dormitory 

 for them ; but where that cannot be had, a warm dry press in a dwelling-liouse will be found a 

 good place to store them away during winter. Having got them safely through their season of 

 rest, then active cultivation may commence, and where a succession of these beauteous and 

 elegant flowers is required, they may be excited into growth at different periods, beginning about 

 the first week of February. They are of the easiest culture, and within the reach of any person 

 wishing to have such lovely additions to their summer flowers. Indeed, considering their easy 

 management, it seems strange that plants possessing, as they do, such attraction? are not greater 

 favorites; as no class of plants can be more useful, during the long period in which they remain 

 in perfection, for the decoration of the stove, the green-house, the drawing-room, and they are 

 even well suited for window culture. In starting the Gloxinia into new lil'e in the spring, the 

 pots containing the bulbs are to be taken from their winter quarters, and placed in bottom-heat 

 of between OC and 70°. The stove, a warm pit, and where these can not be had, a common 

 hot-bed under frames will suit them very well ; and so extensively might these beauteous flowers 

 be cultivated, that even the cottager, with his frame heated with any fermenting material, could 

 command a fine bloom of the Gloxinia. When in flower the plants must be shaded from the mid- 

 day sun, and, if possible, bees must be carefully excluded from them, as they seem particularly 

 fond of their beautiful bells, and in their search for honey scratching the soft delicate epidermis 

 of the flower, and scattering it all over with the white jjollen it contains; thus tarnishing the 

 color, and depriving the bloom of that freshness which all flowers when grown in perfection 

 ought to have. "When the season of flowering is past, the plants must be gradually dried off, 

 and then be returned to their winter quarters. The increase of this lovel}' tribe is of the easiest 

 management, as a single leaf, with or without a bud at its base, cuttings of shoots, or detached 

 offsets from the bulb, stuck firndy into damp sand, and placed under a hand-gliu=s in bottom heat, 

 will root in a short time ; and where a larger increase is required, a leaf eut into many portions, 

 and treated as above mentioned, will produce plants, but the most interesting way of obtaining 

 plants is from hybridized seed, which, if sown in early spring, w'ill give an abundant crop, most 

 of them flowering the same summer, and as their opening bloDms expand it will be most interest- 

 ing to watch the many hues of colors the seedlings will display. — Scotlish Florist. 



SuLrnuR vs. Yixe Mildeav. — As it appears that mildew on Grapes is still spreading through the 

 country, I am anxious to bear testimony to the efficacy of sulphur as a preventive, and also a cure 

 for this very troblesome disease. Last year it made its appearance here, for the first time, and, 

 being quite unexpected, made some progress before it was perceived ; after, however, a good deal 

 of trouble and anxiety, I succeeded, piincipally by dusting, in saving the greater part of the 

 crop. This year, however, as a preventive, I syringed all ray vines, just previous to their expand- 

 ing their bloom, twice over with a strong mixture of sulphur and water, and with the exception 

 of two or three bunches, all my Grapes have been entirely free from its attacks during the season. 

 The following facts are therefore, I consider, fully established : J. That sulphur is a certain 

 remedy for mildew after it has made its appearance, but that there is considerable trouble in its 

 application. 2. That it is a sure preventive, with but little trouble, provided it is applied with 

 syringe, previous to the blooming season. 3. That little or no injury is caused to the vines 

 application when mixed in water. — A. Saul, in London Gardeners' Chronicle. 



