PROPAGATION BY SEEDS AND DIVISION. 85 



sprinklings of tepid water, given either by the syringe or a fine- 

 rose water-pot. Gentle showers will do no harm. If the seed 

 ripens as early as June it should be sown immediately ; but if 

 it is perfected later, gather it and sow it in March following. 

 Place the pans in a cold frame to protect them from heavy 

 showers, and shade them from bright sunshine till the seedlings 

 have made some progress ; then inure them gradually to bear 

 the opeii air and full light. Keep them in those pans through 

 the first winter and second summer, protecting them from 

 hard frost, and allow them to rest in winter the same as 

 older plants. In the spring of the second year they should be 

 separated and planted singly, either in small pots, or, which is 

 better, in a border prepared as described above. "With care 

 bestowed upon them they will flower the third or fourth, year. 

 If the grower is successful in raising a quantity of the best 

 species, he will be enabled to sell the surplus, or exchange them 

 with others for such species as he does not possess. 



By Division. The tuberous-rooted species when they thrive 

 send forth side-shoots, and these become plants. At the time of 

 repotting or replanting these young tubers may be parted from 

 the old plants, but they must be handled very carefully, so as 

 not to bruise them in the least; for, as I observed before, a 

 wound, be it ever so slight, is fatal. Observe, also, to pot each 

 species in the same kind of soil as the old plants grow in ; also 

 take care to expose the tubers as short a time as possible to the 

 open air, for these small tubers suffer more from being dried even 

 than the larger ones. Pot them carefully, and label every one 

 with its proper name ; so that, if you wish to exchange with 

 your neighbours, you can always do so safely, though your 

 plants may be at rest and dormant. Some kinds the Cypri- 

 pediurn, for instance have bundles or fascicles of long fleshy 

 roots ; and the buds are placed in a cluster, with these roots 

 radiating from them. To propagate such rooted plants is a nice 

 operation. A sharp knife must be used, and the blade put 

 between the buds without bruising them. Let it pass through 



