CALCEOLARIA. 



Greenhouse and Stove Plants. 



Propagation and cultivation given under 

 Palms, general details of culture. 



C. adspcrsus. A very thin-stemmed kind, 

 with small pinnate leaves. It is well 

 adapted for use where larger sorts would 

 not be admissible. It comes from Java. 



C. ciliaris. A thin-stemmed species, 

 with a distinct habit of growth ; remark- 

 ably pretty whilst in a young state. From 

 India. 



C. fissus. This is particularly handsome 

 while in a small state ; the pinnate leaves 

 are very distinct in appearance. It comes 

 from India. 



C. Verschaffeltii. A handsome and dis- 

 tinct-looking species that attains a mediimi 

 size. From Madagascar. 



CALCEOLARIA. 



There are two sections of these pretty, 

 free-flowering greenhouse plants, repre- 

 sented by the herbaceous and the shrubby 

 kinds : the former bear much the most 

 showy flowers, the latter give a longer 

 succession of bloom. The original species 

 from which both have been raised came 

 from Chili and Peru. Both can be ob- 

 tained from either seeds or cuttings ; the 

 herbaceous kinds have 1)een so much im- 

 proved in recent years that a goud strain 

 of seed may be relied on, to aft'ord flowers 

 sufficienth^ attractive in form and colour. 

 The seeds should be sown about the end 

 of July in shallow pans, drained and filled 

 with finely-sifted loam, to which one-fifth 

 of leaf mould and a little sand has been 

 added. Press the surface smooth and 

 water to fill up the interstices, otherwise 

 the seed, being very small, will be liable 

 to get too deep. Allow a day for the soil 

 to dry a little, and then sow the seed, but 

 not too thickly. Cover the seed very 

 slightly, stand in a frame or greenhouse, 

 and shade the surface of the pans from the 

 sun so as to avoid the necessity of giving 

 much more water until the seedlings are 

 up. Immediately they appear keep close 

 to the glass, shading when the sun comes 

 on them, and giving sufiicient water to 

 keep the soil fairly moist. Give some air 

 in the day-time and keep the atmosphere 

 moderately moist. When they are large 

 enough i^rick them off two inches apart in 

 jians, or boxes, in soil like that in which 

 the seed was sown, and treat as before, 

 with the exception that the sun's waning 

 influence will make farther shading un- 

 necessary. When the leaves are about an 

 inch long, move singly into 3 or 4 inch 

 pots ; keep them growing through the 

 winter, and for this purpose a night tem- 

 pi ratnre of about 45" will be sufficient. 



Give air daily in mild weather, and stand 

 the jDots on a moist bottom, as the plants do 

 not like an over-dry atmosphere. Never 

 allow the soil to get dry. About the end 

 of February or the beginning of March 

 move them into 8-inch pots, using the soil 

 a little more lumpy and vritli one-sixth of 

 rotten manure in addition to the leaf 

 mould and sand as before. With the in- 

 crease of warmth on sunny days give a 

 little more air, but draughts "must be 

 avoided, or the leaves will be injured. 

 Keep the night temperature about the same 

 as hitherto. They will now move fast, and 

 if it is thought desirable to grow some of 

 the stock large, in six weeks move the 

 strongest into"'l2 or 13 inch pots ; but for 

 ordinary decorative use the 8-incli pots 

 will be big enough. A thin shade should 

 now be used in tlae day in bright weather, 

 and the plants dewed overhead with the 

 syringe each afternoon at closing time. As 

 tile roots get well hold of the soil give 

 manure-water once or t-v^dce a week. 

 Calceolarias are gross feeders and like 

 liquid stimulants. Continue to treat in 

 this way, and put a thin stick to each 

 flower-spike as it gets long enough to re- 

 quire support ; keep on shading when the 

 bloom is open, during which time give 

 more air. When the flowering is over such 

 of the best varieties as are considered worth 

 saving seed from must be well attended to 

 until it is ripe, when they may be dis- 

 carded, and a fresh lot raised from seed. 



Where the shrubby kinds are raised 

 from seed the treatment should be similar 

 to that which has been described for the 

 herbaceous varieties, except that, being less 

 vigorous growers, they do not need so 

 much root-room the first year as advised 

 for the largest of the herbaceous sorts. 

 Cuttings may be put in at any time during 

 the spring or autumn — about March will 

 usually be the best. Take the young side 

 shoots whilst the wood is soft and they 

 consist of about three joints ; remove the 

 lowest pair of leaves, and put four or five 

 together in 6-inch pots filled with sand. 

 Keep quite moist, moderately close, and 

 shaded in a temperature of about 50°. They 

 will root in two or three weeks, when give 

 more air, and move singly into 4-inch pots 

 drained and filled with soil similar to that 

 advised for the herbaceous kinds. The 

 after treatment will also be similar except 

 that when the plants begin to move freely 

 the leading shoots should be stopped to 

 cause them to grow bushy ; when the 

 shoots thus induced to break are large 

 enough, each should be tied out to a small 

 stick. As soon as the soil is moderately 

 filled ^\■ith roots, move the plants into 



