184 BUI£F KEMARKS. 



managed, 1 will give my plan, which is as follows: — I sow early in 

 spring ; I first fill a six-inch pot half full of potsherds, over which I 

 place one inch of sphagnum moss ; I then fill the pot within one inch 

 of the top with rich light sandy soil. When all is pressed down equal 

 and firm, and a smooth surface nuide with the bottom of a small pot, I 

 sow the seed, and cover it very slightly with dry while sand. I cover 

 the pots with bell-glasses, and place them on a shelf in a shady part of 

 an early viner)', keeping the surface constantly moist by pouring Mater 

 on the outside of the glasses. As soon as the plants have come up air 

 is admitted, and increased as they advance in growth. When suflS- 

 ciently strong they are pricked out into small pots, having tlie same 

 drainage, moss, and mixture as the seed-pots, and are again shaded with 

 hand or bell-glasses until the plants become established. In three 

 weeks or a month they require to be potted off singly into small pots, 

 and I encourage their growth as much as possible by placing them in 

 a shady part of either a vinery or melon pit, whichever is kept at the 

 highest temperature, with a humid atmosphere. As soon as they begin 

 to fill their pots with roots I give them once a week a little clarified 

 manure water. 



I re-pot into winter pots about the middle of August, using pots to 

 suit the size of the plants, and replacing them in the same growing 

 temperature as before till their pots are filled with roots. After this 

 I begin to prepare them for winter, by giving them less moisture, more 

 air, and a cooler temperature ; and finally they are placed on a shelf, 

 near the glass, in the coolest part of the stoAC, and wintered rather dry. 

 Early in February I begin to increase the heat and moisture, and as 

 soon as they begin to grow freely I re-pot them, which is generally 

 about the second week in March. They receive another shift in April, 

 and those that are intended for large specimens a third in May, using 

 eighteen or twenty-inch pots, and a mixttire consisting of equal quan- 

 tities of good strong maiden loam, peat or bog mould, burnt clay, leaf 

 mould, and cow manure, with a little white sand. Tliese materials are 

 well mixed together, and if dry are moistened to prevent them running 

 too close in the pots. In potting I use a large quantity of drainage, 

 and plenty of rubble stones, small potsherds, and coarse river sand 

 amongst the mixture. 1 make the mixture just firm, but am very 

 careful to keep it quite porous. I give very little water till the roots 

 reach the sides of the pots ; it is increased as the plants and the season 

 advance, giving heat and moisture in proportion. Too much stress 

 cannot be put upon making a proper mechanical arrangement of rich, 

 porous, and well-drained soils, which are essential for the healthy 

 development of plants of the nature of the Lisianthus. 



When the young shoots are sufficiently advanced I stop them imme- 

 diately above the second joint, each shoot will then produce four, they 

 require stopping about three times. The last stopping for plants re- 

 quired to bloom early should take place in the first week in June, and 

 for plants required to bloom later the first week in July. As they 

 advance in growth the branches will be required to be tied out with 

 sticks, to make round and well-formed plants. 



When the plants are growing freely they are sometimes attacked with 

 a disease at the base, which is produced by the moist and confined 



