38 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



grown ■with tbe general collection in the Btove,it is an excellent plan to 

 place them in a small pit with subjects requiring similar management. 



The compost in which we have found them to thrive the most 

 eatisfactorily is prepared by well mixing together equal parts of turfy- 

 loam, iibrous peat, leaf-mould, and silver sand. If the loam is mellow, 

 fibrous, and silky, the peat may be dispensed with, and a smaller pro- 

 portion of sand used. The simplest way is to allow the plants to 

 grow to their full height, for they require no stopping, and flower as 

 they please. They are then gorgeous in the extreme, and those who 

 have grown them, so that tlieir bracts are large, and the leaves of a 

 deep rich green, may well feel proud. 



The plantp! may be grown a second year, and the proper course 

 is to prune them rather low early in the spring, and when the shoots 

 are abont two inches in length to shake them out and repot, using 

 fresh soil. The shoots will require tying out a little to ensure the 

 full development of the leaves, and dwarf specimens may be had by 

 twisting the shoots round three or four stakes inserted in the pot, 

 sometime in August. They should be allowed to grow naturally 

 allerwards. Some practice is needful before much success can be 

 expected in training Poiusettias, and I should recommend amateurs 

 to be in no hurry to attempt it. 



GEEANIUMS TOR EVERYBODY. 



BY ■WILLIAM COLE, 

 Head Gardener, Ealing Park, Middlesex, W. 



|T is yet too early to buy or commence the work of propa- 

 gating geraniums, whether for the flower garden or the 

 conservatory, but these matters will soon have to be 

 thought about, and in the meanwhile a few critical 

 remarks on the varieties which should be grown by 

 everyone, will perhaps be useful to those who will find it necessary, 

 during the forthcoming season, to increase their stock either by pro- 

 pagation or purchase. " Everybody's geraniums " are those varieties 

 which, by reason of their floriferous character, neat habit, and 

 adaptability to all soils and situations, are as well suited for the 

 garden of the humble amateur as they are for the garden of the 

 wealthiest nobleman. These varieties are not so plentiful as it may 

 at first sight appear, for of the five or six hundred found in the 

 catalogues, there are not perhaps more than twenty sorts that are 

 admissible in a selection prepared with a view to its being adapted 

 to the requirements of all classes. In cases where the amateur has 

 plenty of space, and takes an especial interest in zonal geraniums, 

 lie may of course select according to his fancy, but in other instances 

 Avhere it is desired to produce a good display of bloom with as little 

 trouble as possible, I should strongly recommend the undermentioned 

 as being preferable to all others. 



Bedding Varieties — Eirst in the list of bedders, stands Vesuvius, 

 which has now found its way into the majority of gardens. It has a 



