THE 



VOL. v.] 



APRIL, 1882. 



[No. 4. 



THE GIN 



The beautiful group of flowers with 

 which this number is adorned will give 

 to our readers a very good representa- 

 tion of the form and coloring of these 

 very showy ornaments of the gi'een- 

 house. There is nothing more gay than 

 a fine collection of Cinerarias, whether 

 massed together so as to display their 

 striking contrasts of color, or distri- 

 buted among other plants to give an 

 air of cheerfulness to the whole. A 

 well grown plant when in bloom makes 

 a most elegant subject for dinner-table 

 decoration, while its hawthorn-like fra- 

 grance fills the room with most agree- 

 able perfume. 



These lovely flowers can be had in 

 bloom from early in February to the 

 middle of April, though usually they 

 are in the fulness of their glory during 

 the month of March. They are easily 

 propagated from seed, which should be 

 sown in light sandy soil, in pots or 

 boxes. The soil can be best prepared 

 by using one half good loam, and the 

 other half a mixture of leaf mould and 

 sand in equal parts, the whole having 

 been run through a fine sieve. Fill 

 the pot or box with the soil, having 

 first provided for drainage, and moisten 



ERARIA. 



it with water from a very fine rose* 

 Then sow the seed upon the surface, 

 sift over it the slightest covering of 

 soil, and press it firmly with the bot- 

 tom of a pot so that the seeds may be 

 in close contact with the earth. Cover 

 the pot with a pane of glass and set it 

 in the shade, that is, where the direct 

 rays of the sun will not fall upon it. 

 We usually sow the seed the last of 

 June or first of July. 



As soon as the plants are well up,, 

 the pane of glass should be removed 

 and the plants exposed fully to the 

 light, but not to the direct rays of the^ 

 sun. When the first rough leaves ap- 

 pear, the little plants should be care- 

 fully pricked out into thumb pots filled 

 with soil such as has been already de- 

 scribed. They can remain in these 

 little pots until the roots have filled 

 them, when they should be shifted into 

 three-inch pots. If more convenient 

 to use boxes than thumb pots, they 

 may be pricked out into boxes, setting 

 them about an inch apart, and allow 

 them to remain until they grow so aa. 

 to touch each other. 



When they are shifted into the three- 

 inch pots^the soil should be made richer 



