34 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
ture of loam, leaf-mould, peat, and sand, and cover lightly with fine 
sandy soil. A propagating pit is the most suitable place for the 
seed-pans, as the bottom-heat is most conducive to quick germina- 
tion; but they may be placed in any of the frames or houses in 
which a temperature of 65° or 70° is maintained. 
With the warmth recommended, the young plants will not be 
long in making their appearance, provided the soil is maintained in 
a nice moist state ; and when they are about an inch in height, they 
should be pricked off into other pans, prepared in much the same 
manner as for sowing the seed, and put an inch or so apart. By 
pricking them off as here advised, the risk of their being injured by 
over-crowding is avoided, without the necessity for putting them 
into separate pots whilst of a very small size. By the time the 
plants touch each other in the pans, have in readiness a compost 
consisting cf fibrous loam and peat two parts each, leaf-mould and 
well-rotted manure one part each, and about half a part of sand. 
They must be lifted carefully out of the pans, and those required 
for large specimens be put into large sixties, and those intended for 
the decoration of the dinner-table into small sixties; or, if more 
convenient, the smaller size only may be’employed. During the first 
ten days or so, they will receive material assistance from a moderate 
shade, a close, moist atmosphere, and a temperature of about 70°. 
But as these conditions are those most favourable to the production 
of a long-jointed growth, they must, as soon as they are nicely 
established, be fully exposed to the light, enjoy a moderately free 
circulation of air, and a temperature ranging from 65° to 70°. Should 
the weather be bright and warm, it will not matter if the tempera- 
ture reaches to 70° or 75°, provided the structure is freely ventilated. 
After the stock has been potted singly, the subsequent management 
will consist in shifting them into larger pots, as more space is re- 
quired for the roots, and supplying them with water. Five and six 
inch pots are the most suitable sizes for those intended for the 
dinner-table, and those eight and nine inches in diameter for — 
the portion ot the stock required for the decoration of the con- 
servatory. It is important not to allow them to become pot-bound 
until they reach the largest-sized pot in which it is intended to put 
them ; and also, after they are established in the small pots, to place 
them in a light, airy pit or house. 
When required for bedding purposes, sow about the middle of 
March, and proceed in much the same manner as advised for the 
specimens, until they are potted off into three-inch pots. When 
arriving at this stage, gradually harden off, and, at the end of May, 
plant in the beds at a distance of eight inches apart. Amaranthus 
melancholicus ruber, one of the best of the dark-leaf bedders that 
can be raised in quantities from seed, should be grown in precisely 
the same manner. The seed of this useful bedder is often sown too 
soon, and in consequence the plants exhaust the nourishment con- 
tained in the soil long before they can be planted out, and become 
so stunted, that they seldom produce a thoroughly satisfactory waite 
G. 
