72 THE ELOEAL WOELD AXD GAEDEN GUIDE. 



their growth, will be found only on the immature buds at the 

 extremity of the raceme. 



Whether seen before expansion, wben the swollen flowers present 

 a singularly heart-shaped form, or after the lips of the two outer 

 petals have become reflexed, we know of but few plants so strikingly 

 elegant, and withal so unusual in their appearance. 



Cultivation. — When grown in the open borders, it will be advis- 

 able to plant it in soil only moderately retentive ; for, although there 

 can be no doubt that it is quite hardy, it will be prudent to guard 

 against the evils resulting from too great a degree of moisture in the 

 soil. In sandy loam it would be perfectly safe, but the plant would 

 be less robust in its habit, and produce fewer flowers. 



We are by no means friendly to the indiscriminate use of sup- 

 ports in the flower-garden ; but the stems of the Fumeworts being 

 somewhat brittle and succulent, it will be desirable to secure the 

 principal stalk of the plant to a slight rod, which, if not too long and 

 obtrusive, can be employed without in any degree detracting from its 

 graceful mode of growth. 



When cultivated in wet soils, much risk may be obviated by pro- 

 tecting the roots in winter with some impervious covering : in the 

 absence of anything more suitable, an ordinary pot may be employed 

 for this purpose. 



When grown as a window plant, it produces its flowers a month 

 earlier than when exposed to the rude changes of an English spring. 

 In cultivating it with this view, the plant, after flowering, should be 

 allowed to remain outdoors during the summer and autumn until the 

 stems have died down and the fleshy roots become dormant, when, at 

 the approach of winter, the pot may be removed to the window of a 

 cool room, the soil being kept in a slightly moistened condition. 

 While dormant, and during the first stages of its growth, it may be 

 placed in a fire-warmed apartment, though we do not recommend 

 such a course ; but when the plaut has made some progress, and the 

 leaves are fully expanded, the dry atmosphere of the heated room 

 would be prejudicial to its health, and the pores of its delicate foliage 

 become choked with dust; if kept at rather a low temperature, its 

 flowers will continue in perfection for a considerable period. 



For a strong plant, a pot of not less than six or eight inches 

 diameter is desirable, and the soil may be a rich loam, such as 

 would be produced by the gradual decay of turf from an old pas- 

 ture ; or, in the absence of this, any good garden soil, mixing it 

 when deficient in vegetable matter with a little peat or leaf-mould, 

 and when too sandy with a portion of good loam ; for we have not 

 to fear the effects of the frost, as in the open border. 



The directions we have given for its growth in pots, apply only to 

 those cases in which no other accommodation is available than that 

 afforded by a window ; but where there is the convenience of a cold 

 frame — an auxiliary we should be glad to find in every garden even of 

 the smallest extent — the plant will, as a matter of course, be allowed 

 to winter there, and need only be removed to the window when the 

 flowers are partially developed. 



The plant may be increased by careful division of the roots in 



