184 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
GESNERA. 
it is a distinct and desirable kind, and 
does nov take up too much room. The 
stem is of moderate strength, the leaf- 
blade large, plaited and entire, bifid at 
the extremity, presenting a perfect con- 
trast to the pinnate-leaved species. Central 
America. 
G. Verschaffeltii. A handsome kind, with 
moderate-sized leaves, sufliciently distinct 
in form from the species before named. It 
comes from South America. 
GESNERA. 
The species of Gesnera generally culti- 
vated are mostly tuberous-rooted plants, 
but others are also grown. ‘The greater 
portion of them are indigenous to Brazil 
and the South American continent, con- 
sequently they are stove plants, and a con- 
siderable amount of warmth is necessary 
in order to grow them successfully. Some, 
like G. Cooperii, bear a profusion of in- 
tensely vivid scarlet flowers, which remain 
long in perfection; others, of which G. 
zebrina may be taken as a type, possess, 
in addition to handsome red and yellow 
flowers, exquisitely beautiful leaves, the 
upper surface of which is clothed with 
reddish hairs, thus giving it a soft velvet- 
like appearance. The moderate size which 
Gesneras attain, and their naturally free 
growth, render them well worth a place 
amongst the most easily managed of stove 
plants. 
The tuberous species may be propagated 
at different times of the year, according to 
the early or late period at which they are 
started into growth. The most satisfactory 
method of propagation is by means of 
cuttings made from the young shoots, which 
spring freely from the crown, as in the 
case of Gloxinias. Supposing the plants, 
after blooming in summer, to have been 
gradually dried off, they should, at the 
beginning of the year, be placed in a moist 
stove, with a temperature of 60° in the 
night, and a rise of 10° by day, giving just 
as much water as will slightly moisten the 
soil ; thus treated they will soon commence 
to grow. When the shoots have attained 
a length of about 2 inches they may be 
taken off immediately under the first joint, 
and the leaves removed therefrom; put 
them in a well-drained pan in which is 
placed a little fine sandy soil, filling up 
with silver sand. Insert the cuttings 
sufficiently far apart to prevent crowding ; 
give a little water, and cover with a bell- 
glass. If bottom heat can be supplied they 
will root quicker. As they strike readily 
they will, in the course of a few weeks, 
have rooted sufficiently to bear moving 
into small pots, which must be well 
drained and filled with a mixture of 
sifted loam, to which has been added one- 
fourth of sifted leaf-mould, and as much 
sand as will give porosity to the whole ; 
water slightly, and again partially cover 
for a few days with glasses, or put them 
in a propagating frame, to which admit 
air gradually, and, as soon as they give 
evidence of making growth, inure them 
by degrees to the full air of the house. In 
the course of six or eight weeks they will 
have made considerable progress, and will 
require removal into pots 4 or 5 inches in 
diameter, in soil of a character similar to 
that employed for the first potting, but in 
a rougher and more lumpy condition. 
Through the summer subject them to an 
ordinary stove temperature, with sufficient 
air during the day. Keep them near the 
glass where they will receive plenty of 
light, but they should have a little shade 
in the middle of the day during bright 
weather. A neat stick to each will be 
necessary to support the shoot. Stopping 
should be avoided, as the object this first 
season is to encourage all the leaf-growth 
| possible, upon which will depend the size 
and strength which the tubers will attain. 
From their natural free habit of flowering 
the strongest plants will very likely form 
flower-spikes towards the end of summer ; 
but as the object is, as has just been stated, 
to get as much strength as possible into 
the tubers, we should recommend the 
bloom being pinched out, as, if allowed 
to go on, it will considerably restrict the 
growth of the plants. All through the 
season they must be attentively watered at 
the roots and syringed overhead in the 
afternoons when the house is closed. 
Keep the soil sufficiently moist so long as 
they evince a disposition to grow, after 
which cease syringing, give less shade, but 
do not allow the soil to become dry so long 
as the leaves retain full vitality. When they 
begin to show signs of going to rest gradu- 
ally withhold water until the tops are dead, 
when the soil should be allowed to become 
almost quite dry. The pots should now 
be placed on a shelf or in some position 
at the coolest end of the stove, where they 
will be secure from drip from the roof or 
from water running from other plants. 
We mention this, for it is a common occur- 
rence to see tubers of these and other 
plants when at rest put under stages or 
on damp floors from which they either 
absorb moisture, or receive that which 
drips from above, by which means the 
soil, instead of being all but dry, is so wet 
that it either causes decay or prematurely 
| starts them into growth. They must not, 
