ON PELARGONIUMS. 55 



four shoots, and of course so many more heads of flowers the following 

 season. 



2. Greenhouse. Management. — The season to take Geraniums into the 

 greenhouse depends upon the weather, and as all Cape plants are 

 much healthier, and flower more freely the more they are exposed. to 

 the full air, so long as frost keeps oft' I delay the taking them in, in 

 fact this last season, I did not house them generally until the middle 

 of October. Choice kinds I had covered up with mats or large sheets 

 of canvass elevated on stakes, on such nights as were likely to be 

 frosty. A few that shewed plenty of bloom buds I had taken up, 

 potted, and placed into the greenhouse in September, and they are 

 now in as fine flower, as to size and colour, as ever I had them in June 

 instead of December. 



Perhaps no months in the whole year are so unhealthy for Gerani- 

 ums as November and December, for the weather generally is dark, 

 damp, and rainy, and the plants being full of sappy green leaves, and 

 having received a check from new potting, are often shedding leaves 

 which I constantly remove, or they would become mouldy and give 

 out a bad smell, offensive both to the owners and the plants themselves. 

 At all times during the day I give as much air as possible, by opening 

 the doors, windows, ventilators, &c. In the mornings I have made a 

 fire to dry up damp, but allow it go out before the house is shut up or 

 the remedy would be worse than- the disease; close heat at this season 

 being most injurious. 



During the severity of winter, fire is necessary to keep out the frost, 

 (when very severe both night and day,) but I am careful not to create 

 damp by watering more than is absolutely necessary. It often hap- 

 pens on frosty days the sun shines clear and bright, and though the 

 air it frosty, I always give air to lower the temperature of the house 

 to admit fresh in and to dry up damps. 



In January, I scrape off the top soil of the pots, and have them 

 washed that are green with moss, picking all decayed leaves, trimming 

 off any awkward branches on large plants, and tying up all that re- 

 quire it; then having at hand some light rich soil, I fill up the pots, 

 and finally give a good watering. While they are oft' the stage, I 

 have it cleaned down, and the house cleaned out, operations which 

 are all conducive to the health, not only of Geraniums, but also of 

 every other family of plants under glass, with the exception of suc- 

 culents. 



As the season advances they will generally begin to show flownr 

 bnds, and as soon as I observe that, I consider they require potting, 

 especially those in the small pots struck in July ; this will mostly 

 happen about the middle or end of March, but such as do not show 

 Sower, I do not repot, as that would encourage growth rather than 

 Dowering. 



I may here state what I conceive to hi' the best soil or compost 



