ACHIMENES. ! 3 
Close attention must be paid to watering ; the soil should 
always be damp, but never wet, syringing frequently to 
keep off red spiders; it is better to shade a little at noon, 
if the sun is very hot. When the plants are about five 
inches high they should be tied to small, inconspicuous 
stakes ; in tying, care should be taken to place the sticks 
so that the pan will be a symmetrical mass of green. 
The plants will begin to flower in June, when they 
should be kept partially shaded, and no longer syringed, 
and, in watering, one must avoid wetting the foliage. 
They will keep in flower several weeks. After flowering, 
water should be gradually withheld, and when the leaves 
turn yellow the pans should be set under a bench, and 
the tubers must not be disturbed until it is time to start 
again the following season. With a little care in drying 
off and starting, a succession of bloom may be had the 
entire year. This may not be desirable, ‘however, as in 
winter there are other plants of interest sufficient to fill 
all the space in the greenhouse. The following are the 
most desirable of the many species and varieties that 
have been introduced and favorably mentioned : 
SPECIES. 
A. candida.—A tall-growing, much-branched spe- 
cies, with pure white flowers. 
A. coccinea.—One of the first introduced, a native 
of Jamaica; flowers bright scarlet. 
A. hirsuta.—Rose flowers with a yellow eye; plant 
hairy. 
A. multiflora.—Many flowered ; pale lilac. 
A. picta.—The painted-leaved Achimenes ; flowers 
scarlet, with a yellow eye. 
HYBRID VARIETIES. 
Advance.—Flowers reddish purple, lighter at the 
eye; dwarf, and free of habit. 
