FOKEIGN NOTICES. 



or i^tuiitod in tlicir gro^vtll. Tlicy rocoivo ft sliift in Novtnfber, using n compost mentioned above 

 withmit llic peat. They are again shifted in February, and encli shoot stoinied at the f<nn(Ii joint. 

 Lateral slioots are then produced, and these are lied out horizontally, so as to form the basis of 

 tlie future specimen. The lateral s-hoot^s are also st(ip[)ed, and by tliesc means plenty of wood is 

 obtained for large ]dants in the following season. But I have another mode of proceeding, which 

 is, to take strong plants in April or May, pot them in 11-ineh pot^, place them out of doors, and 

 ]>ick the ilowers off them throughout the season. A'e.\t year they are lit for exhibition. The 

 jdants that are to blossom in Jlaj' are never stopped after they are cut down in July. The June 

 ])lants are stopped early in January, and those for July ia February. To gi-ow rdargoniums 

 successfully, I find that much depends on their winter treatment. They should not receive too 

 much water or fire-heat, and the wood should be well ripened before they are allowed to flower, 

 if a fine head of bloom is wanted. My general time for cutting down is belAVcen the first week 

 of July and the middle of August, according to the ripeness of the Avood. When the plants have 

 fairly broken, the old soil is shaken clean from their root? ; the latter are trimmed in a little, and 

 the plants are re-potted and placed in a frame till the have become established, when they are 

 ]daeed out of doors till they are removed to their winter quarters. To come in for exhibition in 

 May or June, they are re-potted in November, and for July in February. "When thej'- begin to 

 show flower-buds, liquid manure is occasionally given them. The latter is made V)y putting into 

 a large tub of soft water half a barrow-load each of cow, sheep, and horse-dung, and a peck of 

 lime, mixed well and using the clear liquid, after two-thirds of clean water has been added to it 

 During the blooming season plenty of water (not liquid manure, that is only given five or six 

 times just before they come into flower) is required, otherwise the foliage becomes discolored, and 

 the blossoms come small and deformed. — P., in London Gardcnci's' Chronicle. 



CiLTrr.E OF THE CiNEHAniA. — In order to produce strong blocming iilanls in small pots early in 

 February of this gem of the winter season, the off^sets from stock-plants should be potted into 

 3-inch pot^, or if seedlings they should hav.i been pricked out into the same sized pot about the 

 middle of August; and as seedlings grow quicker than offsets, they will bloom about the same 

 time. The second week in September would be a good time for potting them into 4-ineh, and 

 the stronger plants into 5-inch pots, and in a month hence give them their final shift — the former 

 into 5 inch, and the latter into 6-inch pots. The roots will quickly fill the pots, consequently 

 Ihey will require a plentiful supply of water, for if stinted in this respect while growing, they 

 will lose the best of their foliage, on wiiieh their fine appearance so much depends, and what 

 would have been flowering shoots will degenerate and become "broody" and be entirely worth- 

 less for blooming purposes. The soil I have found them thrive best in consisted of two-thirds 

 good turfy loam, one-third rotten dung thoroughly decomposed, and a little rough sand ; pot 

 firmly, and drain the pots well, from first to last a good cool pit in a sunny aspect will both grow 

 and bloom them. — i?. M., in London Gardcneri Chronicle. 



"WinxE IvT-LEAVED PELAUGOxruM. — "When allowed to scramble freely over the surface of the 

 soil, with an invisible peg here and there, this is one of the prettiest bedding plants we have. 

 Its short petioles contrast admirably with the long flower stems, giving the blossoms a charming 

 effect. It is of good habit, and produces abundance of flowers, the latter being so well set off by 

 the stout, glossy, horse-shoe foliage, that I think it can not possibly fail to please those who may 

 be induced to grow it — ^V. Browne, in Gardeners' Chronicle. 



RovAL South London Floricvltveal Society, Sei'TEJIBer 6. — This, the last of the Society's 

 meetings for this year, was well attended, and as an exhibition it was considerably better than 

 the autumn display of 1852, both as regards the quality and quantity of the subjects brought 

 forward. Miscellaneous collections of plants were plentiful and good, but the chief feature was, 

 of courfe, the Dahlias, some of the specimens of which were exceedingly fine. We noticed Sir 

 es iS^apier, Duke of Wellington, Miss Caroline, Lilac King, Plantagenet, Sir Robert Peel, Sir 

 anklin. Queen of Beauties, Queen of Lilacs, Es-ex Triumph, Bob, Sir F. Bathurst, and Ama- 



