THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GDIDE. 297 



shall do no more tban meotion them. About five bulbs should be 

 put in six-inch pots, and a compost consisting of turt'y loam three 

 parts, and well-decajed manure one part employed. As they bloom 

 rather early without the assistance of artificial heat, they should be 

 placed in a warm pit or in the greenhouse. When growing freely, 

 they must have liberal supplies of water, and, when the growth is 

 completed, be dried ofi". To preserve their vigour they require the 

 renewal of the soil annually, and early in the autumn they should 

 be shaken out of the old soil and be repotted in a newly-prepared 

 compost. The most valuable kinds are L. pendula, L. quadricolor, 

 and L. tricolor. They may all be grown most successfully by those 

 who have only a small frame, and be taken to the drawing-room 

 when in bloom. 



Frimula japonica and the beautiful varieties of P. cortusoides are 

 of the utmost value for conservatory decoration when grown in pots. 

 Specimens well-established in pots are the best for early flowering ; 

 but strong plants, lifted from the open ground, at once potted and 

 put in cold frames, will bloom freely, and make a grand display in 

 the early part of the season. Plants with several crowns each are 

 preferable, as they produce a much richer eff'ect. The best varieties 

 of P. cortusoides obtainable at a cheap rate are Amtena, Lilacina, 

 and Alha. 



Spircea pahnata is most eflTective when grown in pots, and can be 

 most successfully forced if the crowns are rather strong and the 

 temperature not in excess of sixty-five degrees. It should be 

 managed in much the same manner as advised for the Astilbe. 



Shrubs. — A few of these are extremely beautiful when of medium 

 size and well-flowered. Bushy plants, lifted towards the end of the 

 month, and carefully potted at once, will bloom early in the season 

 with the assistance of a genial temperature. The best of the shrubs 

 are Andromeda florihund a, a neat growing evergreen, bearing small 

 flowers not unlike the Lily of the Valley ; Ghent Azaleas, in variety ; 

 Persian and Siberian Lilacs, Double-flowered Peach, Prunus triloba, 

 and P. sinensis, fl.pl., Rhododendrons, in variety, and Double Thorns. 

 These may all be procured at some of the principal nurseries 

 specially prepared for forcing. lu the forcing of shrubs of all 

 kinds, the frequent syringing overhead with tepid water is most 

 beneficial in assisting them to break freely. 



The Cologne International Exhibition, although very extensive, has beea 

 a quite second-rate aflFair. Flowering plants were very poorly represented, and 

 although ornamental-leaved plants were abundant, the exhibition lacked attractive- 

 ness, for the plants were scattered throughout a series of structures erected in the 

 grounds of the Flora Society, and it was impossible to arrange the Viirious subjects 

 effectively. The exhibition was opiined by the Crown Prince of Germany with 

 great eclat, and the enjoyment of the hospitalities offered by the Municipality and 

 other public bodies appears to have been quite suffieieat to occupy the time of the 

 various officials and jurors for several days, as no prizes were awarded until the 

 exhibition had been open about a week. Messrs. James Veitch and Son, who 

 exhibited a lar;,'e and interesting collection of plants, were awarded the Empress' 

 Prize, of a splendid porcelain service, richly painted with views of the Rhine, for 

 their contributions to the exhibition. 



October. 



