FLOWERING PLANTS 57 
niums) that continues to bloom as long as any of our 
ordinary bedding sorts. It has not yet been offered 
in this country, but doubtless soon will be, and it 
will be an acquisition indeed. 
The culture of the geranium is simple. For its 
use as a house plant there are just two things to 
keep in mind; first give it a soil which is a little on 
the heavy side; that is, use three parts of good heavy 
loam, one of manure and one of sand; secondly do 
not over-water. Keep it on the “dry side” — 
(see page 45). 
To have geraniums blooming in the house all 
winter prepare plants in two ways, as follows: 
First, in May or June pot up a number of old 
plants. Cut back quite severely, leaving a skeleton 
work of old wood, well branched, from which the 
new flowering wood will grow. Keep plunged and 
turned during the summer and take off every bud 
until three or four weeks before you are ready to 
take the plants inside. Secondly, in March or 
April, start some new plants from cuttings and 
grow these, with frequent shifts, until they fill six- 
or seven-inch pots, but keep them pinched back to 
induce a branching growth, and disbudded, until 
about the end of December. These will come into 
bloom after the old plants. 
The best time for propagating the general sup- 
ply of geraniums is from September 15th to the end 
of October. Cuttings should be taken from wood 
