7^ The Canadian Horticulturist. 



this attractive and very useful plant, flowering from October till August, is very 

 easy to manage, even to growing from seed. Get the best strain of seed — 

 Williams' prize strain is even now superseded. Sow in a small box about two 

 inches deep, in soil of a light nature, press the seed its own depth into the soil 

 with a flat piece of board or shingle and cover lightly. Place in temperature of 

 55°, or thereabouts, cover with glass for a while in order to keep slightly moist, 

 not wet.' After a while lift the glass and keep evenly damp. You will soon 

 see the bulblet appear. 



Then as soon as they have two leaves, if they need more room prick off 

 into another box farther apart, or better still, into small or two in. pots singly. 

 This is the better way, not five or six in a pot. Grow on and gi^e plenty of 

 air, and dont let the hot sun strike them directly, as they are fond of shade, 

 specially in hot days of Fall and Spring months. Re-pot as soon as roots move 

 well to the pot, and let the soil have a little well decayed manure mixed with it ; 

 drain the pots well, keep them growing at 55° to 65°, and you will soon be 

 rewarded with bloom that will delight you. I like the grandiflorum type of the 

 French growers at the present time. Having now on the benches over 1,000, 

 I am able to see the differences of type in color, form, and flowering nature. 

 If you prefer buying a plant already in bloom, you can get of your nearest 

 florist your choice of color, etc , and treat it as I have indicated, taking good 

 care to keep off the green-fly (perhaps its worst enemy), also the thrip — a thin, 

 long, black bug which will quickly destroy the foliage by eating its fleshy under- 

 parts. Watch them closely on the younger leaves, and you can easily destroy 

 ■without the aid of any insect destroyer. If your husband smokes tobacco, ask 

 him to throw a whiff or two under their leaves, and Mr. Fly will soon grow 

 dizzy and fall on the top of the pot, then shake him off and destroy. If you 

 try to keep your corms or bulbs to a second and a third season, don't dry them 

 out to a withering degree ; but simply let them rest, with sufficient life in the soil 

 to give nourishment to the bulbs, in which lies all the force, energy, or vitality 

 preparing for another and greater effort next season in abundance of bloom and 

 foliage. Start them afresh by watering more freely any time from August to 

 October, as you may wish them in succession ; also grade the temperature, as 

 you may wish to keep back or hasten into bloom. By all means try and get a 

 packet of seed of the pure white, heavily scented strain, or a bulb, and you will 

 be delighted. Sow in the house, we would say in greenhouse, in August, 

 September or October. The cut blooms also you will find lasting and very 

 useful. Should any reader like to ask a question, I shall be pleased to give an 

 answer, if able, through these columns. 



I may say this plant has some six species, bearing such names as 

 Cyclamen European (hardy). Cyclamen purum (small flowering), Cyclamen 

 giganthus grandiflorum (large flowers). Another one is, Alpina asperula (or 

 violet of the Alps), so called because the Alpine ranges are its native home, but 

 of them all I would advise you to get the Cyclamen giganthus grandiflorum. 



