496 On the Cultivation of AcJiimcnes. 



root : these will make fine specimens, and be in flower in 

 Jmie. I have frequently seen, grown in this manner, speci- 

 mens of the above three feet in diameter, in a nine-inch pot, 

 and a whole mass of bloom. If they are not topped, they 

 will flower sooner, but, of course, not make so large plants. 

 Coccinea and rosea should be topped when about six inches 

 high, and pegged close down ; by this means, they will make 

 fine bushy plants. Coccinea will not be in flower until the 

 middle of August ; rosea, six weeks sooner; picta succeeds 

 best from cuttings put in about the end of August, and grown 

 rapidly in a moist heat early in the following spring. It is a 

 .shy flowering sort at best, but the beauty of its leaves com- 

 pensates for this. 



They should be grown in a gentle hotbed, in about 75°, 

 until fairly established, when they will succeed admirably in 

 a close frame without any artificial heat : always shade from 

 bright sun : water in the afternoon such as require it : slightly 

 syringe the whole, and shut close with a good heat. They 

 delight in a moist atmosphere, but the roots must not get sat- 

 urated. When coming into flower, they may be removed 

 into the greenhouse. Air carefully, avoiding cutting winds 

 and cold draughts. If moisture be kept up by sprinkling the 

 house occasionally, and shading attended to. the colors will 

 come out truer, and the flowers stand longer. They are easily 

 •propagated by cuttings or leaves. Some of the varieties 

 make small bulbs on the stem, which make as good plants as 

 any. After they are done flowering, water sparingly, until 

 most of the bulbs are matured, when they require no more 

 care than keeping them dry, and free from frost. They are 

 generally kept in the same pots that they have been grown in, 

 but I have found them keep better, and take up less room by 

 being shaken out and stored away in dry sand, putting in a 

 layer of sand and tubers alternately, so as to exclude them 

 from air. By this means, they are also more convenient for 

 planting in spring. 



New Have?i, Conn.^ October, 1847, 



The achimenes are among the most useful as well as beau- 

 tiful plants which have lately been introduced, and are espe- 

 cial favorites of ours. Our conservatory is rendered gay with 



