296 FEBRUARY 



be sown. The pelargoniums have been crowded 

 unduly, yet not greatly to their hurt, first in cold 

 frames, and later in a light part of the greenhouse ; 

 but now they are given the best place, and are 

 treated as honoured guests. They are separated 

 out and regarded as individuals, and, if necessary, 

 are repotted without disturbance of the ball, and 

 presently buds will appear, the plants will ^cpand 

 generally, and good results will follow. One of 

 mine which, last year, received this necessarily 

 inadequate consideration in the early part of the 

 winter became later as good a plant as ever I 

 beheld, with nineteen large trusses adorning it, and 

 the others were not far behind. 



To associate with these in the spring there will 

 be some belated primulas and zonal pelargoniums, 

 with a Harris lily or two, so that I may consider 

 the house provided for until the first days of 

 summer, and now is the time to make provision for 

 a succession. The tuberous begonias have to be 

 looked over, and any which show signs of growth 

 are knocked out of their soil and planted either in 

 boxes or separately in three-inch pots, in either case 

 to be repotted later. It is necessary to recollect 

 that the top of the corm must not be buried. 

 Moreover, nearly all begonias after their winter 

 rest are hollow-crowned, and in watering care must 

 be taken that this hollow is not filled with water, or 

 the bulb will rot. 



Achimenes and gloxinias may be started in 

 succession to the begonias, but as they like rather 

 more warmth, it is well, if the house is now kept 

 cooler than in the early winter, to wait until the 



