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THE FLORAL WOKLD AND GAliDEN GUIDE. 



upon a stage iu a shady situation, removed into the house at the 

 proper time, and undergo the same treatment the second winter as 

 described for the first. When those plants which are intended for 

 specimens begin to show their bloom, they receive additional atten- 

 tion ; a little liquid manure is occasionally given, they are no longer 

 syringed over the top ; bees are kept out of the house by means of 

 gauze blinds, and every precaution is taken to preserve their beauty ; 

 they are never allowed to flag from exposure to the sun, or want of 

 water. I recommend every grower to begin early to train his 

 plants for specimens ; when the shoots are young and tractable, any 

 direction may be given to the stems ; a uniform and handsome 

 appearance will arise from the practice, and the plants will require 

 fewer supports and less pulling about ; at the time they receive 

 their final dressing the flowers should be so arranged as to present 

 an equal distribution of bloom over the head of the plant, to effect 

 which the stems must be secured to small willow twigs. Practice 

 alone can teach the art of dispersing flowers properly ; the less art 

 is employed, the better, and the means should always be kept out of 

 sight. 



The compost I use for my pelargoniums is the following : Two 

 barrowfuls of good maiden loam with the turf, one ditto well-rotted 

 cow-dung, three years old ; this requires to be frequently turned 

 over in winter, to destroy the worms and insects ; one peck of silver 

 sand, one ditto of bone-dust. For the winter repotting, a little 

 more sand is added. 



KALOSANTHES COCCINEA. 





HIS and other varieties of Kalosanthes as bedding; plant* 

 cannot be excelled either in beauty or the facility with 

 which their cuttings are struck and brought into a 

 flowering state. The immense and singularly compact 

 heads of bloom that can be obtained from each com- 

 paratively small plant, in about nine months from the time the cut- 

 tings are put in, combined with their charming colour, render them 

 among the most attractive plants in the parterre. Any time about 

 the end of September I take some strong healthy points of the 

 growing shoots, and after forming them into cuttings 2 J- inches 

 iu length, cutting close to a joint, and stripping the leaves from the 

 bottom for about three-fourths of an inch, I lay them on the 

 potting bench to dry for twenty-four hours. This is necessary, as 

 from the extreme succulence of the plants, they are apt to rot if put 

 in at once. Shallow pans or boxes, four inches deep, and any con- 

 venient length and width, are prepared for putting iu two inches of 

 drainage, then a little moss or sphagnum, and over that some 

 lumpy peat or loam, an inch deep ; and then an inch of sandy loam r 

 fine lime rubbish and sand, well mixed, and pressed closely down. 

 The cuttings should be put in about an inch, or an inch and 



