Stove and Greenhouse Plants and Flowers 183 



year by growers who make a speciality of raising a stock for those who 

 have not the convenience for doing so, and good sturdy little plants may 

 be had for about 5s. to 8s. per hundred. The white variety is by far the 

 most popular for market work, one reason, perhaps, being that it does not 

 so easily fall a prey as the yellow-flowered variety to the Leaf-miner that 

 tunnels in the leaves and utterly spoils the appearance of the plants. 



Once well rooted in pots, pans, or boxes of gritty soil, Marguerites are 

 potted up singly into 60's in a soil that is rather poor than rich, so as not 

 to engender excessive stem growth at the expense of the flowers. The 

 plants are pricked out two or three times during the period of growth, 

 and are eventually shifted into 5-in. pots w T hen large enough. During the 

 summer months they are stood in the open air, and the most important 

 as well as the most arduous work is to keep them watered thoroughly 

 during the hot weather. Sometimes the plants require watering three 

 and four times a day, and even then half the water applied is wasted in 

 the sense that it does not wet the soil in the pots, but the ground on which 

 they are standing. 



For early flowers in winter, batches of plants are taken under glass, 

 but before severe frosts come the whole crop must be placed in shelter. 

 Houses with plenty of light, a free circulation of air, and a temperature 

 not lower than 40 F. by night will suit Marguerites very well, and will 

 keep them free from the leaf maggot. This pest surely appears if the 

 temperature becomes too high, say up to 60 or 70 F., and will soon ruin 

 a crop. To check it an eggcupful of paraffin or kerosene to 3 gal. of warm 

 water and a little soft soap should be sprayed occasionally over the plants 

 while the leaves are still green and healthy. Once, however, the maggot 

 is between the two skins of the leaves, insecticides of any kind are useless, 

 and the only remedy is to pick off the injured leaves by hand, and have 

 them burned at once. 



Besides the white- and yellow -flowered varieties with single flower 

 heads there is now a beautiful double-flowered one called Mrs. F. Sander. 

 This has pure-white flowers about 4 in. across, with a ring of strap-shaped 

 florets surrounding a close bunch of quilled florets in the centre. It is a 

 charming variety, and is excellent for cut-flower purposes. Flowers of 

 the yellow Marguerite are imported in large quantities, and find a ready 

 sale in April and May. 



Mesembryanthemum (Fio MARIGOLD). Out of some 300 species 

 only a few are grown largely. The most popular is the variegated form 

 of M. cordifolium, which has small heart-shaped leaves bordered with 

 creamy white, and bears masses of bright rose -purple blossoms. It is 

 largely grown for carpet bedding, and is sold in shallow boxes. Propaga- 

 tion is effected by cuttings from stock plants inserted in a gritty compost 

 under glass from February to April. 



Other species are M. crystallinum (the Ice Plant), M. tricolor, and 

 M. pomeridianum, all annuals easily raised from seeds sown in heat in 

 spring. The Ice Plant is so called owing to the large glittering crystal- 



