MISCELLANEOUS SECTION. 315 



of firm sound roots, the bottom-heat and dry air will soon be perceptible. 

 Before plunging the plants, let the surface of the soil become quite dry, 

 so that if bad weather sets in, the foliage will not be choked with damp, 

 nor will mildew attack them, which is sure to be the case when sur- 

 rounded by stagnant moist air. In watering the plants after plunging, 

 be careful not to wet the surface of the soil in which they are plunged : 

 I have proved the importance of attending to this. Give plenty of air 

 day and night, only exclude from frost and rain both the foliage and 

 buds, the last named in particular, for if wetted now they are apt to be 

 one-sided. In plunging, give plenty of room f and if in pits, have the 

 lights off as much as possible. At all times endeavour to secure a 

 circulation of air ; if this is not done, the foliage cannot prepare food 

 for the bud, the footstalk becomes weak and lank, and the leaf turns 

 yellow. Where bottom-heat cannot be secured, set the plants out thinly 

 in houses, and by all means keep the air dry and moving, watering the 

 roots at all times with water at from 65° to 70°, which will in some 

 measure answer the purpose. Without bottom-heat 1 have never been 

 able to produce blooms anything like in point of size and form as witii 

 it. Those kinds which come semi-double in a usual way, Mill come 

 perfectly double under this treatment; indeed, in all kinds it forces the 

 centre out, so as to form a perfect flower, approaching in size and form 

 a first-rate Dahlia. When the plants are plunged, lift them up now 

 and then, as, if they root through the bottom, those roots in the pots 

 will become inactive and die. As the centre of the blooms begin to 

 come up, withdraw them from the heat gradually, and stick them 

 according to taste. Many kinds are better left as they grow, unless 

 intended for exhibition, when they must be secured to prevent bruising; 

 but plants grown in this way, in a few weeks (the shoots being of equal 

 strength, able to support themselves, clothed with foliage to the bottom, 

 and eighteen or twenty inches in height), are very different to manage, 

 and move from place to place, to the naked lank things too often seen. 

 If, in any stage of growth, mildew attack them, which is generally on 

 the under side of the leaf, fill a common dredging-box with flower of 

 sulphur, turn the plant upside down, then dredge it, and let it remain 

 on ; it will prove a safe and sure stop to its ravages, which, if neglected 

 and allowed to spread, will certainly spoil the foliage. When the 

 blooms are fully expanded (which they will be after t lie middle of 

 November), keep the roots rather drier than usual, watering them in 

 the morning; by this treatment the blooms will remain perfect for five 

 or six weeks. 1 have had some kinds quite fresh up to the beginning 

 of January." 



Summary. — " Put in the cuttings from the middle of May to the 

 middle of June, have all potted-off by the middle of July, have them 

 all placed in the blooming pots by the first week in August, and all 

 stopped within t lie first ten days of August ; let all the plants be plunged 

 into bottom-heat (where convenient), and protected from wet and cold, 

 by the middle of October, and if all goes on well, they will be in bloom 

 by the middle of November; so that the whole time occupied, from 

 commencing with the cuttings to the time of their being in full bloom, 

 is about twenty weeks." 



