THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 367 
wide. It will be a great convenience if a tank, about twenty inches 
in depth, is formed along one side of the house, instead of the stage. 
A single pipe carried along the bottom of this, with a platform of 
slates, and six inches of cocoanut-fibre refuse ovér it, will form a 
hotbed which will be found of immense value for*propagating pur- 
poses, and for starting such things as require the assistance of bottom- 
heat at any stage of their growth. 
When the stove is built the amateur must steadily set his face 
against stocking it with coleus and other weedy plants, which so 
frequently usurp the place of really good things. As it is most im- 
portant the house should present as attractive an appearance as pos- 
sible during the winter, such things as flower in that season should 
be selected in comparatively large numbers; and in addition there 
should be a fair proportion of the most elegant palms, not necessarily 
expensive kinds: a few marantas, and alocasias, and a goodly number 
of dracznas, and crotons. The two last-mentioned classes retain 
their rich variegation throughout the year, and are of themselves 
well able to produce a most beautiful effect. But to return to the 
plants for flowering at midwinter, we have, first, the 
APHELANDRAS, of which A. aurantiaca, A. nitens, and A. Roexli 
are the best. These have dark glossy green foliage, and brilliant 
scarlet flowers, and are remarkably attractive. To produce a stock 
of neat plants for flowering in winter, take cuttings of moderately 
firm shoots early in the summer, insert them three together in three- 
inch pots, and when nicely rooted shift, without separating them, 
into six-inch pots. A brisk bottom-heat will be of considerable 
assistance during the rooting process, and after they are struck a 
rather light position is the most suitable for them. They do not 
require stopping, and seldom any training, as they are of stiff, erect 
habit. After they go out of bloom keep rather dry until the early 
part of March, then prune them back, water moderately, and when 
they commence to grow freely turn them out of the pots, reduce the 
ball of soil considerably, and return to pots one size larger. They 
will require pruning annually, to keep them dwarf and well furnished 
with foliage to the rim of the pot, but in a general way it is hot 
desirable to keep them after the second year. A mixture of equal 
parts peat, loam, and leaf-mould, with a dash of sand, suits them 
admirably. 
Begontas of the type represented by B. sawndersiana aud B. 
fuchsioides, are most valuable for winter flowering, they are all of 
very free growth, have drooping flowers, waxy in texture, and 
ranging from rose to deep red. Those of the first mentioned are 
deep rose, and those of the other bright coral red. Other good 
kinds are B. Digswelliana, bright reddish pink, B. nitida, and B. 
prestoniensis, orange red. By striking the cuttings in spring in 
small pots, four or five in each, and then shifting them into five- 
inch and from these into seven-inch pots, good specimens may be 
had by the autumn. It is not necessary to stop the shoots, but 
they must have the support of neat stakes. A compost prepared as 
advised for the aphelandras will suit them admirably. By pruning 
and repotting annually they may be kept until they become large, 
December, 
