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GLE^NYS HANDBOOK 



KALMIA. [Ericaceae.] Beautiful evergreen shrubs, be- 

 lougiug to the group commonly called " American plants," 

 from the majority having been originally obtained from 

 America. The Kalmias are readily forced into early blossom 

 by the stimulus of artificial heat. The proper soil for them 

 is sandy peat earth ; it is, in fact, the usuah and the best 

 practice to plant these Kalmias, together with Rhododendrons, 

 Azaleas, &c., in separate beds or patches prepared with peat 

 soil. They are usually increased by layers made at the end 

 of summer, but may also be raised from seeds, in which case 

 the seeds require to be sown in shallow pans of sandy peat, 

 and kept close in a frame : the seedlings are transplanted to 

 other pans as soon as large enough to be handled, and again 

 kept close for a time until established, when they are gradu- 

 ally inured to exposure. K. glaiica, flowers red. K. hirsuta, 

 flowers red. K. latifolia, the best of all, flowers pink. 



KALOSANTHES. [Crassulacese.] Beautiful succulent 

 plants, formerly known as Crassulas. They are propagated 

 by short cuttings of the points of the free-growing shoots 

 taken about the end of August, and which, after being cut 

 through at a joint, and a few- of the lower leaves taken off, 

 should be laid out for a day or two to dry a little, and then 

 planted singly in small pots in sandy soil, and set on a shelf 

 in the greenhouse, where they should have just water enough 

 given to keep the soil moistened — no more. When they are 

 rooted the tops should be taken off to cause other shoots to 

 be produced, and these must also be topped when a few 

 inches long for a similar purpose, the topping being repeated 

 as the plants grow until the requisite size and bushiness are 

 secured. When by this means a dwarf thickly- branched 

 plant is produced it may be let grow to flower. The pots 

 should be changed for larger ones as often as they get filled 

 with roots ; and a rich, but very free, open, loamy soil em- 

 ployed, such as a mixture of mellow loam with coarse sand 

 and leaf-mould, or quite decayed dung. In winter they 

 should be kept nearly dry in a cool airy greenhouse or pit, 

 beyond the reach of frost. Old plants after blooming should 

 be cut down to a skeleton, when they will produce young 

 shoots for flowering the following year. In hot dryish situa- 

 tions these plants make a very showy bed in the flower 



