226 ON THE CULTURE OP THE GENUS LOBELIA. 



nothing can stay its effects, and death is tho sure consequence. 

 I have inserted these remarks, more closely allied to Botany than 

 other parts of gardening, as a warning to any inexperienced per- 

 sons, (whom the splendid colour of the flower might deceive,) 

 considering that the names of all, and moi'e esjiecially such dan- 

 gerous plants, cannot be too fully pressed upon every one's 

 memory. 



L. cardinalis and siphilitica can be propagated in the best man- 

 ner from seeds, which ripen well in this country. All the other 

 sorts I have named above, can be propagated from seeds, offsets, 

 and cuttings. I take off the suckers in October, and put one in a 

 pot, pi'otecting them in u frame during the winter, forcing them 

 gently on a dung hotbed ; shifting the plants into larger sized pots 

 at various times as they require it. The compost I use, is 

 made up of yellow loam and a small quantity of leaf mould and 

 sand mixed with it. The period when they require this repotting 

 is from February to May. At the commencement of the latter 

 month I remove them into a gi-eenhouse, and harden them gra- 

 dually to bear the full exposure of the open air. By this time 

 they will have just begun to push forth flower stalks ; the plants 

 must then be placed in water — if there is the convenience of an 

 Aquarium, so mueh the better — if not, a saucer filled with water is 

 a very good substitute. They will begin to flower in July, and, if 

 shaded, will last a considerable time in bloom. Shading is 

 a general rule for all high coloured flowers, such as Trcvirania 

 coccinea, Crassula coccinea, &c. By placing the Lobelias in 

 water, they will not require to be removed under a frame for win- 

 ter protection, though coming originally from so hot a climate as 

 Mexico. 



Propagation, by cuttings, is very frequently adopted. In June, 

 take a young stalk, and divide it into lengths of five or six 

 inches each; plant them under a hand glass, upon a border having 

 an eastern exposure ; water occasionally. Cuttings thus put off, 

 strike with remarkable fiicility, and will be well rooted in a month, 

 when the young plants may be managed as above directed. 



As the plants always bloom the first or second year, it is the 

 best plan to raise a good supply from seeds. It should be sown 

 immediately after it is ripe, and be protected under a frame. In 

 the spring the seeds will begin to vegetate and the plants appear ; 



