of Rural Art and Taste. 



261 



the better they flower. There appears to be 

 a growing taste for these curious phmts ; this 

 is not surprising, for many of them are very 

 handsome, and the plants will bear more 

 neglect than many others without suflFering ; 

 in fact, neglect in giving water does less harm 

 then giving too much, for in overwatering the 

 roots often perish. 



Baskets — The beauty of many of the 

 summer baskets such as Achimenes, Begonias, 

 etc., will be over, and must be replaced by 

 such as Cethouna, Crassifolia, Epiphyllums 

 and Achyranthus ; these last are capital for 

 giving color to a warm greenhouse in winter, 

 and much more eifective than when seen 

 growing below the level of the eye : small, 

 well colored plants of Dracaenas are also 

 good for center of winter baskets. 



Cfjclainens — These plants will require 

 fresh potting during this month ; the proper 

 time is as soon as growth begins, which is seen 

 by small young leaves pushing from the crown 

 of bulb. It is an open question if it is best to 

 bury the bulb in potting or to leave it partially 

 above the soil ? We prefer to bury it while 

 small, but find very large bulbs frequently 

 rot if covered with soil, from the water lodg- 

 ing in the crown. There is no doubt many 

 roots will form round the top of bulb if 

 buried, but the risk of decay does not com- 

 pensate for this. These fine plants grow 

 best placed near the glass in a warm green- 

 house and shaded from bright sunshine ; they 

 also require careful watering until the pots 

 are well filled with roots, for if the soil gets 

 too wet when first potted, the plants never 

 grow satisfactory. These plants are among 

 the most satisfiictory, either for greenhouse 

 decorations or as window plants ; they last a 

 long time in flower, have a great variety of 

 color, from pure white to rosy crimson, in- 

 cluding striped and spotted varieties, are very 

 sweet-scented, and are also very easily 

 grown by amateurs or professional plant- 

 growers.- Any good soil which will grow a 

 geranium is suitable for these plants, with 

 the addition of extra sand or grit to keep it 

 open. 



Chinese Primulas will require a shift 



into larger pots as soon as the pots arc well 

 filled with roots, which they should be, early 

 in this month, if former directions have been 

 attended to ; six and seven-inch pots are the 

 most useful size to flower these plants in, ex- 

 cept for a few extra large specimens, for 

 which we use nine-inch size. These plants 

 would come in well if required for exhibition, 

 but it is useless to have plants in these large 

 pots unless they are very extra strong, for if 

 overwatered, they would probably rot ofi" at 

 the surface. In jiotting these plants be care- 

 ful to sink the old bulb low enough for the 

 soil to cover the stem up to the leaves, for 

 the best roots usually form just below the 

 foliage, and if potted high, the plant is 

 always loose in the pot and liable to break ofi" 

 when moved. 



Gloxinias attd Achiiiienes will, with 

 the exception of late plants, be gone to rest, 

 and may be kept dry and placed away under 

 the stage, but not in a cold place or the bulbs 

 will decay. 



Pelargonium — If not shaken out already, 

 should be done at once, and repotted into 

 smaller pots. (^ive them a good light place 

 and plenty of air to get the plants well 

 established before winter. 



Ferns and Selaginellas should be 

 looked over to see that scale and thrip have 

 not become established, and should be de- 

 stroyed at once by careful cleaning. These 

 plants are very useful at all seasons of the 

 year, both to mix with flowering plants and 

 also for cutting to mix with cut flowers. A 

 nicely filled fern case is one of the best orna- 

 ments for a sitting room, and requires much 

 less attention than growing plants in general. 



Cannas, — A box or two of these plants 

 placed in a warm part of the house is very 

 useful for cutting shoots during the winter 

 to mix in large stands of cut flowers. Select 

 some of the varieties most telling in the 

 foliage, such as Marshal Valliant for dai*k 

 brown, and Jean Vandael or Premiere de 

 Nice for a light green. 



Tuberoses, — If plants of these, which are 

 commencing to throw up flower stems, are 

 carefully taken up and potted, well watered 



