THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 77 
ber and December, if plants well set with flower-buds are in October 
placed in a genial temperature of about 60°, and syringed occasion- 
ally with tepid water. In the few remarks I am about to make, I 
shall say nothing in reference to the production of exhibition 
specimens, for to do justice to the subject, much space would be 
required, and I shall probably be doing better service by advising 
the amateur on their cultivation for the decoration of the con- 
servatory. 
Probably March is the best month of the whole year in which 
to purchase Azaleas, for the growth is then thoroughly firm and not 
likely to suffer in transmission, and, if well set with flower-buds, 
they will come into bloom soon afterwards, and contribute to the 
beauty of the conservatory. ‘They commence to make new 
growth before they go out of bloom, and if purchased whilst 
making new growth there is a risk of its being checked to the 
injury of the plant. 
The propagation of Azaleas by means of seed and grafting is not 
difficult to those who have the proper convenience, and are well 
acquainted with the details; but the amateur of limited experience 
will be prudent if he depends entirely upon the nurserymen for the 
increase of his stock. ‘Thrifty plants, in five or six-inch pots, and 
furnished with nice heads, are perhaps the best for the amateur to 
purchase, as they are sufficiently strong and may usually be pur- 
chased at a comparatively cheap rate. From the time they come to 
hand until they go out of bloom, the only attention necessary will 
be to supply them according to their requirements with water. But 
immediately the flowers begin to fade, preparations should be made 
for repotting them. 
In common with other delicately-rooted hard-wooded plants, 
Azaleas must be repotted with great care, and unless this work is 
done in a careful manner, the growth will be more or less unsatis- 
factory. ‘Large and frequent shifts are alike undesirable, and as a 
rule they should be repotted annually, and at each shift pots one 
size larger be employed. The pots must of necessity be perfectly 
clean, and the importance of thorough drainage cannot be too 
strongly urged. 
The crocks for pots of small and medium size should be broken 
up into pieces the size of a filbert, and these must be placed in the 
bottom in a regular manner. For six-inch pots the layer should be 
about an inch in thickness; for those eight inches in diameter, a 
two-inch layer will be required ; and so on according to the size of 
the pots. 
A thin layer of the rough portion of the compost should be 
placed immediately over the crocks, and on this about an inch of the 
prepared soil. The roots of plants that have been in the same pots 
for some time will be found to have formed a close mat, as it were, 
round the outside of the ball, and unless these are loosened they will 
not strike readily into the new soil. With a piece of bluntly-pointed 
stick, it will be an easy matter to loosen the roots, and the only pre- 
caution that need be taken is to avoid breaking them about unne- 
cessarily. The crocks at the bottom of the old ball must be removed, 
March. 
