140 THE FLORAL WOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



potting, pruning, etc., as may be expedient, they will continue to 

 increase the size and beauty for many years. 



Cuttings of tbis plant root freely, if young half-ripened shoots are 

 taken off for the purpose during summer. They should be inserted 

 in silver sand in a well-drained pot, covered with a bell-glass, and 

 placed in heat. They will root in five or six weeks, aud if potted 

 then into four-inch pots, they will make nice plants for the ensuing 

 spring. The soil I find best adapted for it is two-thirds fibrous peat 

 and one-third good turfy loam, with a liberal addition of silver sand ; 

 the two former should be broken into small lumps, but not sifted, 

 except for young plants. In potting large specimens, it is advisable 

 to add a liberal supply of potsherds to the soil, or wood charcoal, 

 broken to the size of a small nut. This will assist in preserving the 

 ball in a healthy, open condition. 



If those pests, mealy bug or brown scale make their appearance, 

 lose no time in clearing them off. "With early and careful attention, 

 the habit of the plant affords small chance of safe retreat for these 

 unwelcome visitors. 



THE POLYANTHUS. 



flMONG the whole range of florist's flowers, not one is of 

 more easy cultivation than the Polyanthus ; and yet I 

 know that I rightly tell the experience of the majority 

 of florists when I say, that with no flower have they 

 generally been less successful. The great fault lies in the 

 fruitless attempt to grow it in pots. It is not difficult to account 

 for its impatience of pot culture, which is, perhaps, referable to 

 several causes. Thus, when so circumstanced, it is subjected to a lack 

 of that degree of moisture so acceptable to it ; which may arise from 

 inattention to watering, lightness of soil, or drying of the pots. It 

 may in part depend on the cramping of its roots ; for the Poly- 

 anthus grown in the open border is most prolific of long, thick, 

 fleshy, fibrous roots. But chiefly, I conceive, it is dependent on the 

 confinement within the cold frame, which no attention to airing can 

 obviate, inducing a paleness and softness in the leaves and flower- 

 stem, strongly contrasting with the firm, crisp, yet succulent and 

 luxuriant green foliage of those which are grown in the open bed. 

 The only sure guidance in the artificial cultivation of a plant is the 

 observance of its natural condition and habitat. And where grows 

 the primrose in its wild luxuriance but in the shaded lane or wood- 

 land ? And though it is sometimes seen to adorn, in the spring, 

 the sunny bank of a hedgerow, yet, ere the summer's sun can visit 

 it, even there it will be found that Flora has kindly sheltered her 

 favourite amid the shadowing growth of others of her train. The 

 Polyanthus, then, should always be grown in a cool bed, or open 

 border, which has an eastern aspect, or which is otherwise wholly 

 shaded from the summer's sun, for it i3 most impatient of heat and 

 drought, and, it may be added, of confinement and smoke also ; and 



