218 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
flowers in dressing epergnes and vases, and also for bouquets of all 
kinds, that they are held in the highest esteem by those who make 
it their business to supply New York and other great centres in the . 
States. The demand is, indeed, so large that in some of the esta- 
blishments in which plants and flowers are grown for market pur- 
poses, whole houses are devoted to its culture. In private gardens 
also it is grown rather extensively, and I would suggest whether it 
may not be advantageously cultivated in English gardens also. 
Whether it would prove remunerative as a market plant in England I 
cannot pretend to say. But I amof the opinion that if the London 
bouquetists once made its acquaintance a brisk demand would soon 
spring up. Plants neatly trained are remarkable for their extreme 
elegance, and are exceedingly well suited for the decoration of indoor 
apartments; and as the shoots retain their freshness for a consider- 
able period after their removal from the plants, it is no wonder that 
they are so much sought after by the American bouquetists. It is 
not an expensive plant, for it is now plentiful, and can be multiplied 
at a very rapid rate by means of seed. 
Plants of the Myrsiphyllum ean probably be obtained at some of 
your great nurseries ; but I should advise the amateur to commence 
with a packet of seed, as affording the cheapest means of raising a 
stock. J am unable to offer any advice as to where seed can be 
obtained in England; but I can give information of a thoroughly 
reliable character as to the way of raising a stock of plants from it. 
The best period for sowing is from the middle of July to the third 
week in August, because the seed will then germinate readily, and 
there will be sufficient time for the seedlings to become well esta- 
blished by the winter. The best cultivators here sow in shallow 
boxes filled with loam, leaf-mould and sand; the loam being broken 
up fine, and the leaf-mould and sand added, in the proportion of a 
part each to three parts of the loam. The boxes are put ina pit or 
house, kept close, and rather cool than otherwise. A hotbed, which 
is usually regarded as a pure necessity in the raising of seedlings, is 
in this case quite unnecessary, and, in fact, not desirable, for the 
seed does not germinate so freely upon a hotbed as when in coleus 
house or pit. The regular sprinklings for the purpose of keeping 
the soil in a nice condition as to moisture and the shading needful to 
prevent the surface-soil drying rapidly, must have due attention, as 
in the case of raising seeds of all kinds. Over-crowding in the seed- 
boxes is not desirable, and as soon as they are large enough to 
handle, lift carefully with a piece of pointed stick, and put them 
separately in small sixties. Remove them to a warm house, as they 
want the assistance of a genial temperature during the first winter, 
to enable them to maintain a steady growth until the sprirg season. 
Like many other liliaceous plants, they require a thorough season of 
rest, and this can be readily given them. The supply of water must 
be gradually withheld, commencing to lessen the supply about the 
middle of March ; and when the foliage has turned yellow, and the 
stems begin to die down, withhold it altogether. When the latter 
are quite dead, pack them away underneath a stage in the green- 
house, and if the pots are laid upon their sides, the plants will be 
Se eee 
