ON KEEPING CUTTINGS AND SEEDLING CALCEOLARIAS. 267 



Nearly all the above kinds are hybrids, as well as the one now 

 figured, the reward of attention paid to so interesting an amusement. 

 The seeds should be sown in spring in pots, in light rich sandy loam, 

 about a quarter of an inch deep, and be placed in a frame where the 

 heat is temperate ; they soon come up, and should then be removed 

 into a greenhouse, on the shelf of which, near the glass, they may be 

 retained undisturbed. As soon as the foliage changes at the end of 

 summer, water must be withheld gradually, so as not to give too sudden 

 a change to the small bulbs. During winter the pots must be placed 

 at the back of the greenhouse, free from danger by frost, and covered 

 by a saucer to keep them from wet. Early in February a little water 

 should be given, and the pots put in gentle heat. As soon as the 

 shoots protrude through the skin, the pots must be carefully emptied 

 and the bulbs planted singly in small pots, and kept in a cool frame 

 through the summer, and afterwards be treated as done to strong 

 flowering bulbs. The process of impregnation, saving the seed, &c, 

 is amusing, and the result most amply repays for attention. 



ARTICLE II. 



ON KEEPING CUTTINGS AND SEEDLING CALCEOLARIAS 

 MOIST WITHOUT WET. 



BY GLADIOLUS. 



I saw a plan the other day, which seemed to me an admirable one, 

 for affording a due supply of moisture without over wetting cut- 

 tings, &c. 



It consisted in stopping the hole at the bottom of a thumb-pot with 

 clay, or a tight cork, and introducing it thus stopped into a large pot 

 filled with proper compost for striking cuttings, &c The cuttings 

 were placed all round at proper distances, and close to the inner edge 

 of the larger pot, and the thumb-pot buried in the middle of the 

 compost. This thumb-pot was filled with water, and through its porous 

 sides (the hole at the bottom being, as I said, completely stopped) the 

 water gradually penetrated into the compost, and thus kept it moist, 

 but not wet. No care is needful but to replenish the thumb-pot with 

 water when it is all drained and evaporated. 



It is well known to those who grow Calceolarias that they require 

 to be kept continually moist, though not wet, especially as regards 



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