72 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
BILLBERGIA, 
keep it porous ; insert the suckers well up 
to the leaves, pressing the soil down firmly, 
and do not give any water for some days, 
or it will make the soil too wet. Place 
them in a house or pit in which there is a 
night temperature of 65° or 70°, and 6° of 
8° higher in the day; if they can be 
accommodated with a bottom heat of 
80°, they will root quicker than they 
otherwise would do, but do not confine 
them in a propagating frame or under 
pct, as is done in the case of cuttings, 
or, if too humid, they are liable to rot. 
In the course of a month or so they will 
make roots, and air should be given when 
required. By midsummer they should be 
in a fit condition for shifting into pots a 
size larger than those they are in, but none 
of the family should be overpotted, as 
they.do not like more soil than the roots 
ean fully occupy. Let them have a light 
situation, but during summer they will 
require a thin shade in sunny weather. 
Supply them regularly with water as it is 
wanted, and syringe overhead in the after- 
noons during the season of active growth. 
Continue this treatment until the be- 
ginning of September, when they will 
not need further shading, and syringing 
may also be discontinued. The tempera- 
ture may now be reduced 5° day and night, 
and by the middle of October it may be 
allowed to fall to 60° at night. At this 
point it may be kept throughout the winter, 
during which they will want less water, 
but should never be allowed to get too dry. 
In spring as the days lengthen raise the 
temperature a few degrees. By the be- 
ginning of May the roots will be in an 
active condition, and the plants should be 
moved to pots a size larger than those they 
are in, the soil used being in a similar state 
to the last potting. If a few bits of crocks 
or charcoal are added it will ensure the 
roots keeping healthy, as they dislike any- 
thing of a sodden, impervious character. 
As the season advances increase the tem- 
perature to the same height as it was 
during the previous summer, and give air 
as before, shading when requisite. This 
season the plants will, if all goes on well, 
make strong growth, and some of them 
may need a second shift in July if the pots 
are well filled with roots, but unless that is 
the case do not move them. To such as 
evidently require more room give pots 2 
inches larger, and encourage them to make 
all the growth possible by giving plenty 
of heat and light, as the stronger the plants 
the finer will the flowers be. In autumn 
reduce the temperature, and treat through 
the winter as during the preceding one. 
They will not require repotting in spring, 
but in everything else they should be 
managed as already recommended, and they 
will throw up their bloom-spikes during the 
spring and summer. When in flower, 
move them to the coolest end of the stove, 
or to an intermediate house, if such is 
available, in which a drier atmosphere is 
maintained. Thus situated, the flowers 
will last longer than they otherwise would. 
When the blooming is over they should 
be kept in the stove and treated in every 
way as hitherto, for upon the attention 
which they get will depend their ability to 
produce suckers quickly, and in a con- 
dition such as will enable them to grow 
up to a flowering size in the least time. 
After the first suckers are removed, the old 
plants, if well cared for, will throw up 
more, Which may either be taken off and 
rooted singly as already described, or can, 
if large specimens are wanted, be allowed 
to remain on the old plants. These if 
shifted into larger pots and grown on, 
will make flowering crowns in one 
season. 
The following are a few of the best kinds, 
which will form an acceptable addition to 
any collection of stove plants, as even when 
not in flower they have a distinct and 
handsome appearance :— 
B, Chantinu. A fine species, with bright 
red bracts. The flowers, borne on a stem 
a foot high, are yellow and red. 
B. iridifolia. The Iris-leaved  Bill- 
bergia is a handsome species, with scarlet 
and yellow flowers. It comes from Rio 
Janeiro. 
B. Moreliana. Not only one of the best 
Billbergias, but also one of the most 
beautiful of the whole of the Bromeliaceous 
Order. It isa native of Brazil. Its leaves, 
which grow to a considerable length, have 
a lively green ground colour, banded with 
white ; its flower-spike is drooping and 
very graceful; the flowers are crimson- 
purple. 
B. polystachya. Has leaves furnished 
with strong spines. The spike is erect, the 
bracts are small and reddish-crimson, the 
flowers purple. A native of Brazil. 
B. roseo-marginata. A strong-growing 
kind, with long leaves banded with white ; 
the bracts are rose-coloured, the flowers 
light purple. a : 
B. Saundersti. This is a stout-growing 
species, with strap-shaped leaves 10 or 12 
inches in length, spimed on the margin, 
the under-surface being of a purplish 
colour, and covered with light-coloured 
blotches. The flowers are produced in 
half-drooping racemes about 12 inches in 
length, furnished with long crimson bracts. 
The calyx is crimson, the corolla deep blue, 
