LOBELIACE.^. 1 73 



as flowering is finished, and stow them away in coal-ashes or 

 dry sand in sheds, under stages of cool plant-houses or in cold 

 frames; and a friend of the writer, who was very successful in 

 the cultivation oi Lobelias, kept his roots in tubs of water under 

 cover to prevent freezing; but the v\-ater, on account of its 

 liability to become putrid, required frequent renewal, a circum- 

 stance, doubtless, that prevented my friend from making con- 

 verts to this pickle-tub method. My own experience is in 

 favour of lifting the roots in autumn immediately after flower- 

 ing is finished, dividing them, and potting the offsets singly in 

 the smallest pots they can be got into, afterwards plunging the 

 pots to the rims in coal-ashes in -a cold frame. Liberal airing 

 in favourable weather, and protection during frost, are all that 

 they will need of attention and labour till the early months of 

 spring. To do them thoroughly well, they must have an early 

 start ; and for this purpose a hotbed, in which a temperature 

 ranging from 60° to 65° can be kept up, should be in readiness 

 to receive them by the second week in February-. Examine 

 and trim the plants, and transfer them to the hotbed, not 

 plunging them, but merely setting them on a bed of ashes. 

 They will soon begin to grow, and will require shifting and 

 constant attention to watering, but as yet very carefully. Con- 

 tinue to shift as required by the progress they make up till the 

 end of April, when they should get their final shift and be 

 transferred to a cold frame, kept close till they are inured to 

 it, and afterwards carefully hardened oft' for planting out in 

 the end of May. They are not particular as to kind of soil, 

 but are very much so as to the quality. Loam and peat and 

 well-decayed stable-manure in nearly equal parts, and abun- 

 dance of grit of some sort to keep it open and porous, is a 

 compost in which these Lobelias delight in pots, and the beds 

 or borders that they are designed to occupy out of doors 

 cannot possibly be made too rich for them. They are 

 very impatient of drought when making their growth, and 

 will absorb almost any quantity of water; it should not there- 

 fore be spared. 



L. amcEna [Blue American L.) — This is a very rare species 

 in cultivation. I am not aware that it is to be found in nurser- 

 ies at all, and it certainly is in very few botanic gardens. It 

 is one of the hardiest if not one of the showiest, and continues 

 to bloom for a long period in summer and autumn. The plant 

 grows about 2 feet high, with moderately erect, round, and 

 smooth stems. The leaves are lance- shaped, sharply but 

 slightly toothed. The flowers are a very pleasing shade of 

 blue, in long terminal one-sided spikes, and begin to open 



