CHAP. IX VILLA GARDENING 195 



l^lace a jDlaut or two of each kind iu a temperature of 55° or 60°, 

 having jireviously cut back any straggling shoots to make the 

 plants more comi^act, and to induce the production of a number of 

 young soft shoots, suitable for cuttings. When these are 2 

 inches long take them off, cutting smoothly, just beneath a joint, 

 removing the bottom leaves ; insert the cuttings in pots of sandy 

 soil, plunging the pots in a hotbed having a temperature of 

 about 80". The best and quickest way to obtain good plants for 

 pot cultiue is to dibble the cuttings singly into 2i-inch pots, as 

 Avhen rooted they can be potted on without any derangement of 

 roots, and the fewer checks a plant receives the better. As the 

 young i)lants progress, they should be moved into a house and be 

 placed on a shelf in the full light, near the glass, and be shifted on into 

 larger pots as required, not over-potting, nor yet permitting them 

 to become pot-bound till they receive their final shift. Very nice 

 specimens cau be grown iu 8-inch pots, and by starting early in the 

 season they should have received their last shift by the end of 

 May. During the growing season, when the plants are young, 

 frequent attention must be given to lay a good foundation by 

 stopping the yovxng growth before too much progress is made. The 

 right method of pinching is to do it when the removal of the ter- 

 minal bud will suffice. If au inch or two of the shoot is taken off, 

 there must be a great waste of force. Petunias cannot be grown 

 successfully without support ; therefore, as soon as the plants begin 

 to make progress upward, a few neat stakes, sufficient to meet their 

 needs, should be used to keep the shoots from splintering off, which 

 they will do if neglected. As soon as the flowers show, diluted 

 liquid maniu-e may be given two or three times a week. All through 

 their lives Petunias must have a light position ; they are sun-loving 

 plants, and when grown near the glass the flowers come brighter. 

 The pots shoidd be well drained, as the plants will take a good 

 deal of liquid nourishment when in full growth and flowering. To 

 obtain very large specimens the cuttings should be taken iu Augiist, 

 kept moving near the glass all winter, and pushed on in a light 

 position in spring. They are not particular as to soU. Fibry loam 

 in a mellow condition, rather inclined to be sandy, enriched with 

 leaf-mould or old hotbed manure to the extent of a third part, will 

 do them well. 



To raise new varieties recourse must be had to seed, and the 

 more carefully the flowers are hybridised and selected, the higher 

 the character and quality of the progeny will be. Selection alone, 

 without the trouble of hybridising, will do much to improve the 

 Petunia. Obtain a packet of seed from a good source, and sow 

 it iu heat in March, prick off the seedlings into pans or boxes, 



