290 



JOXJKNAL OF HORTICULTURE AKD COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 13, 1863. 



and relog the whole, and place them in the sweet clean 

 house, giving no water tUl shoots and roots appeal- ; only 

 give moisture in the air pretty freely, to keep them plump, 

 and encourage them to grow both at the top and the 

 roots. The cultivator must not expect such a neglected 

 collection to improve even with the highest culture in a 

 short time — it vnl\ take three or four yeai's to bring them 

 into normal luxuriance. If he has not had much experience, 

 let me advise kim to procure some work on their cultm-e : 

 even the humble one our coiTespondent alludes to will be 

 useful. — T. Appleby. 



OENTAUEEA CAJNTDIDISSIMA AS A BEDDEE. 



As there seems to be some difference of opinion about the 

 merits of , this plant for bedding purpo.ses, it would be of 

 great service to the gardening world it' those who have had 

 much experience of it would report upon the subject. My 

 own has not been sufficiently extensive to enable me to give 

 an opinion without some reservation ; but others, perhaps, 

 can write more decidedly. What little experience I have had 

 is greatly in its favour, and the condition of my plants 

 during the gTeater part of the summer left no'thing to 

 wish for. Some growers, however, say that it becomes 

 too rank, and when so its foliage assumes a dirty grey 

 instead of the beautiful white which it in general presents. 

 Ai-e its detractors right or not ? I fancy myself that the 

 majority of those who grow it will affirm the contrary, but if 

 otherwise let them by aU means be heard. — H. T. V. 



[We shall be obliged by reports on this subject, whether 

 success or non-success attended the attempt to bed this 

 plant, with details of the cultui-e adopted, and the nature of 

 the soil.] 



HEEBACEOUS CALCEOLAEIAS. 



"An Admip.ee op Calceolaeias " wishing for hints on 

 their cultivation, will, it is to be hoped, find something in 

 the toUowing suitable to his case. These charming plants 

 aie natives of the mountain ranges of Chili and adjacent 

 countries, and delight in the rich vegetable mould found on 

 the margin of forests, the same as the Foxglove, to which 

 they are closely aUied, does in oiu- own country. 



Calceolarias may be had in bloom at different periods by 

 periodical sowings of the seed, but three sowings wiU be 

 ample for most places. For a spring display, the seed is 

 so?Fn in the middle of July ; for summer flowering, in the last 

 week in August ; and a sowing in spring gives fine autumn- 

 flowering plants. The two first sowings require no artificial 

 heat, but the last is placed in heat. 



Seed of first-class exceUeuce should be procured, avoid 

 low-priced seed, and by all means let it be new. The start- 

 ing into flower prematurely is greatly to be attributed to old 

 seed, whilst vigorous growth is promoted by sowing new. 

 The soil for the sowing should consist of turfy loam and 

 leaf mould in equal parts, with an admixtm-e of one-sixth 

 silver sand. The seed-pan or pot should be half fiUed with 

 di-ainage, and on this place the riddlings of the compost, for 

 it should pass through a half-inch riddle. Providing the 

 drainage and riddlings occupy three parts of the depth of 

 the pot, fill with the compost, and level the siu-face. Water, 

 so as to thorouglily moisten the soil, tlu-ough a fine-rosed 

 watering-pot ; sow the seed thinly upon the sm-face, and 

 scatter a little silver sand over it so as to make the surface 

 of the soU white all over. Place the pot in a shady place 

 out-doors, and cover with a hand or bell-glass, or a close 

 cold frame will answer as weU. Guard against exposing 

 the pot to sun and currents of ah-, and keep the soU just 

 moist, but not very wet. Look out every now and then for 

 snails, for these pests wiU clear a pot of seedlings in a 

 single night and leave nothing behind them but their sUme 

 and the roots beneath the surface. A little soot sprinkled 

 round the pot will make all safe in that respect, and may 

 save the raiser the trouble of complaining about the b.adnes's 

 of the seed. All watering should be made through a fine 

 rose, and shade must be given if the place is exposed. 



When the plants are fau-ly up admit a little air, but avoid 

 draughts. Gently bedewing the plants in the morning 

 will keep them cool and moist diuing the day. When the 



plants have a pair of rough leaves the size of the thumb- 

 nail, pot them singly into 60-sized pots in the same compost 

 as before, and place in a close cold frame in a shady spot. 

 Keep close and shaded for a few days until growth commences; 

 then admit a Uttle fi-esh air, and give enough water to keep 

 them growing freely. When the plants become established 

 admit air freely by taking the lights off at night, and in 

 cloudy weather, and thus give them the full benefit of dews, 

 gentle rains, and a damp but not stagnant atmosphere. 

 Dryness is the greatest bane to contend against in Calceo- 

 laria-cidture, for if the plants ar-e kept dry green fly is diifi- 

 cidt to keep down, and they flower prematui-ely. For that 

 reason the lights had better be kept over the plants during 

 the day and the frame tUted or stood on bi-icks placed flat- 

 wise at each corner, so as to prevent stagnant air lodging, 

 or the frame becoming hot inside. A gentle sprinkUng of 

 water overhead morning and evening in di-oughty weather 

 will much invigorate the plants ; but they should be shielded 

 from heavy rains by putting on the lights, and shaded from 

 bright sun. 



The plants must be potted immediately on the pots 

 becoming filled with roots, for cramping them in small pots 

 tends to cause flowering before the plants are half formed. 

 Shift them into 48-sized pots, using the same compost as 

 before, placing in the fr-ame, &c., as at the fii-st potting. 

 When the roots reach the sides of the pots, pot into 32's, 

 using a compost of loam from rotted tui-ves one year old 

 and leaf mould in equal parts, with half the bulk of cow- 

 dung two years old, and add about quarter of the whole of 

 pieces of charcoal the size of a hazel nut, and silver sand. 

 Water freely in addition to lightly syringing morning and 

 evening, admit abimdance of air, and give all the light 

 practicable without bright sun. 



In October (I am dealing with the seeds sown in July 

 for blooming in May) the plants will need shifting into 

 24-pot3 ; but as there will be some very strong whilst others 

 lag behind, discriminate between a strong plant and a weak, 

 potting the fii'st, but merely examining the last to see that 

 the drainage is all right ; then place in a cold fi'ame with a 

 southern aspect, for we now want light and warmth. 



Any plants that are very sickly ought to be shaken out of 

 the pots, removing all the eai-th without injuring the roots, 

 and potted in the compost recommended for seedlings in 

 a size very little larger than just sufficient to hold the roots 

 without cramping them. If the cultivator's stock be large 

 he may discard the sickly plants ; but it is only right to 

 caution the uninitiated against throwing away that which 

 may prove superior in colour, spotting and Ijlotching, form 

 and substance, to any in the patch. I have known the sickly- 

 looking considered so ; but really weak growers afford the 

 most novelty, and the finest-formed and colcured flowers in 

 patches of seedlings. These weak growers, whether weak 

 by nature or accident, will form capital succession plants, and 

 first-class specimens of small size for filling up gaps on front 

 stages in tlie conservatory. When the nights ai'e becoming 

 ft'osty in October or November remove the plants to a pit, 

 placing them near the glass, and as far from the heating 

 appai-atus and ciurents of dry air as possible without sub- 

 jecting them to frost or allowing stagnant aii' to lodge near 

 them. The plants cannot have too much light and aii- ; but 

 care should be taken that the air does not become dry, nor 

 that they flag fi'om want of water at the roots or a deficiency 

 of moisture in the atmosphere. Damp or stagnant air should 

 be studiously avoided, and drip prevented falling on the 

 leaves, or moistiure of any kind lodging between the leaves 

 or on them for any length of time. The shelves of a green- 

 house are a good place for wintering Calceolarias, but not 

 equal to a pit, though I have had them in 12-inch pots with 

 a head of bloom between 2 and 3 feet in diameter with over 

 a thousand flowers upon them at one time. The main points 

 to attend to during winter are to keep the plants gently 

 gi-owing without giving waimth to make them grow quickly, 

 and, if dai'k and close, to become drawn and tissue-like in the 

 leaf. Any shoots that grow straggling should be stopped ; 

 but it is" a bad practice to stop one shoot and not another 

 on the same plant, for it tends to promote a succession of 

 flowers ; whereas the beauty of the plant consists in aU the 

 blooming-stems appearing simultaneously. 



If ail go on well the plants will have leaves the size of a 

 lady's hand by Christmas, when they may be potted into 



