334 



direclioii, care being taken to water ibcm occasionally till well 

 rooted, after which they only re{{uire to be kept free iioni weeds; 

 and when they tiower in the following spring the best flowers should 

 be marked, and the rest be removed into the borders or other places 

 for aft'ording variety; and the valuable plants may be removed, 

 when tliey have finished flowering, into the borders or beds Avhere 

 they are designed to flower and remain, in the same manner as 

 above, watering them slightly till mcII rooted again. The roots 

 afterwards require to be parted and removed annually, and the earth 

 of the borders renewed, to prevent their degenerating. 



It is necessary, in order to keep up a proper stock of plants, to 

 raise new seedling plants every two or tluee years, as the old plants 

 mostly decline in beauty after tlie tliird year. 



In the latter method, the roots should be parted in the beginning 

 of the autumn, as soon as the flowering is over, antl it n)ay likewise 

 be done early in the spiing; but the former is the best time, as the 

 plants get stronger and flower better in the spring. 



In performing the work the plants should be taken up out of the 

 ground, and each bunch divided into several slips, not too small, 

 unless where a great increase is wanted, being careful to preserve 

 some root to each slip; they are then to be planted in a fresh dug 

 border, enriched with dung as above, setting them five or six inches 

 asunder, giving them water directly, and repeating it occasionally 

 till they have taken good root. The approved sorts may in this way 

 be easily preserved. 



These plants are observed by the editor of Miller's Dictionary to 

 be very liable to the depredations of snails and slugs, in the spring 

 of the year; the plants and pots therefore should be carefully ex- 

 amined on all sides early in the morning. But their worst enemy is 

 a small red spider or Acarus, which in summer forms its web on the 

 under side of the leaves. These little insects, scarcely visible without 

 a magnifying glass, cause the leaves to become yellow and spotted, 

 and eventually destroy the plant: they multiply with such rapidity 

 as to take possession of a whole collection in a very short time. 

 Such plants as appear infected should therefore be immediately 



