328 THE FLOEAL YVOELD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



stances not later tban the beginning of March ; and as soon as 

 growth commences shake the soil from the roots, and shift into pots 

 just sufficiently large to admit the roots ; a temperature of about 

 60° at night, allowing it to rise some 10° with sunshine and air, 

 will be suitable; and they should be kept near the glass, and air 

 admitted on favourable occasions, in order to induce stocky growth. 

 Water the soil cautiously until the roots become active, but moisten 

 the plants overhead, morning and evening, with the syringe, to 

 keep the foliage clean, etc. This plant is very subject to the attacks 

 of aphides, and therefore these pests should never be allowed to 

 establish themselves ; they should be destroyed at once, either by 

 means of tobacco-smoke or by syringing with tobacco-water, and 

 this should be repeited as often as may be necessary during the 

 growing season, taking care to have the foliage clean when the 

 plauts commence flowering, as tobacco- smoke applied there would 

 be apt to cause the blossoms to fall prematurely. As soon as the 

 pots get moderately well tilled with roots, shift into otheis, and now 

 is the proper time to place several plants in a large pot to form the 

 foundation of large handsome bushes. About five plants placed in 

 a 10-inch pot will bn found to make large specimens with com- 

 paratively little trouble, whereas to form a good-sized specimen out 

 of a single plant requires a long season's growth and very frequent 

 stopping. During the warm summer months, they may be placed 

 in a clo^e pit or frame, where they will succeed very well without 

 artificial heat. Keep them near the glass, and stop the shoots fre- 

 quently, keeping them well-tied out to secure strong dwarf growth, 

 and shift into pots a size larger than before, as the roots may 

 require space. Towards the middle of September they should be 

 returned to a house or pit where they can receive a little artificial 

 heat to ripen their wood, and induce a plentiful display of btooi i, 

 and this will be promoted by keeping them rather short of water 

 for a fortnight or so. It is also necessary to have respect to the 

 season at which the plauts are wished to bloom, and to stop accord- 

 ingly, and it is hardly safe to practise stopping later in the season 

 than the beginning or middle of August. When in flower the tem- 

 perature should range at 45° at night, but it may be allowed to rise 

 a few degrees with :un heat, and the atmosphere should be kept 

 dry, otherwise the flowers are apt to decay sooner than they should 

 do. After the beauty of the plants is over, they may be kept 

 rather dry at the root, and placed in a cool situation, in order to 

 afford them a season of rest, after wuich they should be cut back, 

 shaken out of the soil, repotted, and treated as recommended for 

 last season. Fresh plauts, however, will be found to make hand- 

 somer specimens than those that have been frequently cut back, 

 therefore all who have young stock may throw away the old plants 

 as soon as they have done blooming. The most suitable soil for 

 this plant is good, strong, rich, turfy loam, to which may be added 

 a portion of well-uecayed cow-dung, say one-sixth of the whole, 

 about a like quantity of fibry peat or leaf soil, and a sufficient; 

 admixture of sharp clean saud to ensure a free percolation of water 

 through the mass. In the case of large plants, which may be rather 

 stinted l'or pot room, manure water may bo given two or three 

 times a week with advanlno-e. 



