8 ACHIMENES AND OTHER GESNEBACEOUS PLANTS. 



charming colours of the various Achimencs. And the culture of tlie 

 plants is withal so simple, that no one need be deterred therefrom by 

 fear of not succeeding -who possesses the ordinary convenience of a 

 stove, or, for lack of a stove, a common frame heated by fermenting 

 manure or other material. 



When I remove my Gloxinias from the greenhouse to make room 

 for its proper inmates, usually the first week in October, I cut off the 

 tops close to the bulb, considering it preferable to do so than allow 

 tlicm to die down, because they are apt to rot and carry decay into tlie 

 heart of the bulb ; after this I place the pot on a shelf in the stove, 

 where they receive no water throughout the entire winter until they 

 are repotted in February, March, or April, according as the circum- 

 stances of their growth may indicate it to be necessary to perform 

 that operation ; for notwithstanding they are kept perfectly free from 

 moisture, and the heat in which they are ])laced does not average 

 more than 58 or 60 degrees, they will soon after they are cut down 

 begin again to grow, and continue slowly so to do throughout the 

 ■winter, and by the time potting season arrives some of them frequently 

 have formed fine heads three or four inches in height, and five or six 

 inches in diameter, ready to start with the utmost vigour when they 

 shall be stimulated by the application of fresh soil, water, and an in- 

 crease of heat. By the beginning of February I pot a few of the 

 strongest, that seem by their forward growth absolutely to require it; 

 but the general potting I defer until the end of the month or begin- 

 ning of March. The soil I employ consists of equal parts of rough 

 turfy bog earth and well rotted leaf mould, fully incorporated with 

 about one-twelfth of white sand; this year I also added a goodjjro- 

 portion of potsherds broken small, and my j)lants have, in conse- 

 quence, been unusually fine, the particles of pot not only rendering 

 the soil open and accessible to the roots of the plants, but forming so 

 many reservoirs of moisture and nutriment. In potting I rub most 

 of the old soil off the roots, and place them at once in the pots in 

 which I intend them to flower, taking care to ensure thorough drain- 

 age. I am not partial to shifting unless I find any pushing with 

 unusual vigour, and promising to make extra fine specimens, in which 

 case I remove them into pots two sizes larger. When the whole are 

 potted they receive a copious watering, and in two or three days, if a 

 moist genial heat is kept up, their fine roots may be perceived spread- 

 ing on the surface of the mould, a certain indication they are thriving, 

 subsequent attention to watering when necessary, frequent syringing, 

 and maintaining a genial heat, is efficient to cause the plants to pro- 

 gress with great vigour, and by the end of May or beginning of June 

 the plants will begin to expand their blossoms, when they are at 

 once removed to the greenhouse there to display and continue their 

 beauties throughout the summer. 



The mode of treatment I pursue with Gesnerias and Sinningias is 

 similar to the above, but with Achimenes some difference in shifting 

 is necessary to be observed. I will therefore remark that I cut them 

 down as soon as the tops decay, and place them on a shelf in the 

 stove, where they remain perfectly free from moisture in the same 



