290 
soil similar to that in which they were 
first potted, and continue to treat as before 
until the end of August, when gradually 
give more air and cease syringing; but 
all through the season do not let the soil 
get so dry as to cause the leaves to flag, as 
if this occurs they will fall off before the 
blooming time, which detracts materially 
from their appearance. 
Keeping them cooler through September 
will check further growth, and admit of 
the wood getting matured, but the tem- 
perature should not be allowed to fall too 
low in the nights. If very large heads are 
wanted, the plants must be kept their full 
length, which, if they have been well 
managed and are strong will probably now 
be 4 feet in height; if smaller heads on 
dwarfer growth are preferred, the plants 
should be kept in a growing temperature, 
and about the end of September the shoots 
should be half cut through some 8 or 10 
inches below the point, leaving them thus 
half severed for a fortnight. In that time 
the base of the cut part will get callused 
over, when they may be cut away alto- 
gether, and each of the heads put in a 
6-inch pot filled with fine sandy soil. Kept 
close and moist like ordinary cuttings they 
will soon root, when they must be kept on 
growing slowly, and in this way they will 
produce nice heads of bloom on stems that 
will not be more than 15 or 18 inches high 
when in flower, but the bracts will not be 
near so large as if the plants were left their 
full length. If some of the stock are kept 
somewhat cooler, say in a temperature of 
about 55° until after Christmas, and then 
removed to a little more warmth, they will 
come in later and last correspondingly 
longer. Such of the old plants as are 
grown on a second year should be cut 
back to within a few inches of the collar 
and started about the time advised for the 
production of cuttings; when they have 
broken into growth partially shake them 
out, giving pots a size or two larger. 
They will make several shoots the second 
season. They may be kept dwarfer if de- 
sired by treating them cooler with more 
air through the growing season, but, so 
managed, the heads will be smaller. 
There is a variety of the plant with 
double bracts, that is, the coloured floral 
leaves are much more numerous than in 
the ordinary type; it is well worth grow- 
ing, as also the white-bracted form of the 
original kind. They all succeed under the 
same treatment. 
Insects.—The juices of these plants are 
too acrid for insects to trouble them much, 
although aphides will sometimes attack 
them, and may be destroyed by fumigation. 
Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 
POLYGALA, 
POLIANTHES TUBEROSA. 
(Tuberose. ) 
Few plants can be had in bloom over 
so long a portion of the year as Tuberoses. 
Their Zaria is much liked. The climate 
of this country does not suit them, conse- 
quently the bulbs are grown in different 
parts of the world—ltaly, the United 
States, and Africa—and after being im- 
ported and flowered once they are dis- 
carded. 
To have them in bloom over a lengthened 
period they should be potted at different 
times, a portion as soon as the bulbs can 
be had after they are imported, which is 
in the latter end of the year ; two more 
pottings should be made at intervals of two 
months afterwards. Good loam is the best 
to grow them in, with a little leaf-mould 
and sand; 6-inch pots are large enough 
for the largest bulbs; drain well, make 
the soil moderately firm in the pots, 
leaving the tops of the bulbs well up above 
the soil. One of the principal things to 
attend to in their cultivation is to never 
let the soil have much water until they have 
made roots and begun to grow. For early 
blooming they should be plunged in a 
bottom heat of from 60° to 70°, the tem- 
perature of the house being about 70° in 
the daytime, with air admitted ; give no 
water until the leaves appear, and keep 
the soil fairly moist after they begin to 
grow freely. For later flowering the pots 
should be stood ona damp bottom, such as 
the earthen floor of a house, or pit, the mois- 
ture from which will be absorbed by the pots 
and communicated to the soil, so that little 
water need be given before top growth has 
commenced. Bring them on in heat, as 
advised for the earlier lot, so as to give a 
succession. The plants have a natural dis- 
position to grow tall, and to keep them 
from being drawn they should have plenty 
of light ; as soon as they have begun to 
grow away freely keep the flower stems 
near the glass. 
The undermentioned varieties are all 
good :— 
African. 
American. 
Italian. 
The Pearl. 
Insects.—Aphidesaresometimes trouble- 
some, for these fumigate. 
POLYGALA. 
These handsome and very distinct ever- 
green greenhouse plants are natives of the 
Cape, and are deserving of general culti- 
vation, not alone for exhibition purposes, 
