494 On the Cultivation of Achimenes. 



very fine light sandy compost, remove the seedHngs into the 

 potting-shed ; take a broad-pointed knife, and cut the soil in 

 the pots in a vertical manner ; then raise up some of the young 

 plants very carefully, breaking as few roots as possible, and 

 place them against the little vertical bank, from an inch to 

 an inch and a half asunder, pressing the soil to the roots, and 

 proceed to do so, row by row, till the pot is full ; then 

 replace them in a slight heat, until they require to be 

 transplanted again, which is generally in about three weeks 

 or a month; they may be potted off singly, using light sandy 

 soil, and thoroughly drained pots. As soon as they start into 

 growth again, inure them gradually to the cold which will 

 make them strong and robust, against the winter. I have 

 found it a good plan to cover the surface of the soil with small 

 pebbles, as it prevents the probability of their damping oif 

 during the dark days of winter. 



1 shall have occasion to return to these stock plants, 

 when I treat of Winter and Summer Management, and shall 

 therefore leave them for the present. Such is the result of 

 my experience in raising seedling calceolarias, and I shall be 

 happy to hear that they are considered worthy of a place in 

 your very valuable Magazine. 



Staten Island, N. Y., October 27th, 1848. 



Art. V. On the Cultivation of Achimenes. By Wm. Saun- 

 ders, Gardener to Wm. Bostwick, Esq., New Haven, Conn. 



This interesting genus of plants is a native of Mexico, and 

 the West Indies. They have become general favorites 

 amongst the lovers of flowers, and deservedly so. They are 

 easily propagated, not of difficult cultivation, and continue in 

 flower for several months. As a summer decoration for the 

 greenhouse, they are almost indispensable. Coming into 

 flower when the pelargonium, calceolaria, and other early 

 summer flowering plants are losing their beauty and attrac- 

 tion is another point greatly in their favor. Their flowers 

 are of every tint and shade, amongst which, perhaps, the 

 most widely different are longiflora, with its flowers "dark. 



