On the Cultivatmi of Achimenes, 495 



deep, beautifully blue;" picta, with its curiously veined 

 leaves, and bright scarlet flowers: patens, with its flowers of 

 so intense a violet, (reddish purple,) that no artificial color 

 can imitate them ; and last, {cind least, for it is very small,) 

 argyrostigma, with its beautiful white flowers and silvery- 

 looking leaves. 



The soil best adapted for them is turfy loam, peat earth, 

 and leaf mould, in about equal quantities ; adding a little 

 sand and charcoal finely broken. Mix these thoroughly, but 

 use the compost as rough as possible. The best time to start 

 the tubers for a general collection is about the end of Feb- 

 ruary. If they are in the pots in which they flowered during 

 the previous year, top-dress with leaf mould, or, if otherwise 

 kept, plant the tubers rather thickly in shallow pots or pans, 

 covering slightly with soil, and place them in gentle bottom 

 heat, with an atmospheric temperature ranging from 60° to 

 75'^ ; keep them moist, and they will soon vegetate. When 

 they begin to show leaves, they must be shaded from bright 

 sun, especially if the foliage is wet or damp, as they are easily 

 scorched at this stage ; when they have attained the height of 

 two or three inches, they may be treated as follows : — 



Grandiflora, Skinneri, ledifolia, and those of similar habit, 

 should be planted three in a small pot, and stopped once or 

 twice to make bushy plants; as soon as these are filled with 

 roots, shift into larger pots, say eight inch, or the size called 

 24s, which will grow them quite large enough for any ordi- 

 nary purpose. Pedunculata, hirsuta, and these tall-growing 

 species, should be planted three or four roimd the sides of a 

 48 sized pot. Stop them closely at every joint two or three 

 times, and, when shifted, they should be plunged as deep as 

 possible in the pots, as they v/ill root all up the stem, and it 

 tends to keep them dwarf; deep, narrow pots are most suita- 

 ble for tbese varieties; pedunculata, when well stopped, 

 and liberally shifted, makes a very pretty specimen, sending 

 out, about the middle of August, a profusion of its scarlet 

 flowers. 



Longiflora coccinea, rosea, cupreata, pyropge^a, &c. may 

 be planted at once into the flowering pots : the wider and 

 shallower these are, the better. Longiflora should be planted 

 about two inches apart, and topped as soon as they take fresh 



