FEBRUARY. 



598 



FEBRUARY. 



other varieties. They should be potted in 

 lighter soil, and even more carefully watered, 

 as altogether their constitutions are more 

 tender. The shoots will now require thin- 

 ning and training. 



Pelargoniums , Management of. Shifting 

 :he young successional stock should now be 

 completed. The soil they delight in con- 

 sists in two parts good turfy loam and one 

 of leaf mould, with a slight admixture of 

 thoroughly decomposed cow-dung and a 

 liberal sprinkling of silver sand. The chief 

 work here at present will consist in stirring 

 the surface of the large plants, staking, 

 training, and watering. The water should 

 be, say, 5 warmer than the temperature of 

 the house, and in dull weather, or indeed 

 any weather at this season, the foliage must 

 be kept dry. 



Plants requiring Shifting. Towards 

 the end of the month several species of 

 greenhouse plants, such as kalosanthes or 

 crassula, baronias, chorozemas, dillwynias, 

 pimeleas, and azaleas, may be shifted into 

 larger pots. Most of these thrive well in 

 good fibrous peat and a little loam, liberally 

 intermixed with sharp silver sand and char- 

 coal. One of the chief things to attend to 

 before placing any plant whatever, but 

 especially any hardwooded plant, into a 

 larger pot, is to see that the old ball is in 

 a nice healthy growing state. The extre- 

 mities of the roots should also be carefully 

 untwisted or unwound, to induce them to 

 start at once in the fresh soil. The new 

 soil must also be pressed firmly into the 

 pots, or the water will pass through it, 

 instead of penetrating through the old mass 

 of roots. More hard-wooded plants are 

 destroyed through inattention to these 

 points than by all other sources of mis- 

 management put together. 



Tydczas. Allied to the achimenes are 

 the tydoeas, which produce beautifully 

 spotted tube-shaped flowers. These, how- 

 ever, require more heat. 



Watering Plants in Greenhouse. Watei 

 may be given freely to heaths, epacrises, 

 and azaleas coming into flower, but camel- 

 lias, on the contrary, must have but a 

 limited supply. Chinese primroses require 

 a liberal supply of water, but care must be 

 taken not to let any fall on the hearts of 

 these plants. 



February. Hotbeds, Frames, 

 &c., Work in. 



I. FLOWERS. Auriculas, Pinks ; Car- 

 nations, &c. These may have as much air 

 as it is possible to give them, provided 

 always that the temperature of the external 

 air is not lower than 35 ; draughts must be 

 avoided, and water given but sparingly and 

 when the weather is mild. 



Bedding out. If the bedding system is 

 carried out, the garden must be filled with 

 /lowering plants by the end of the month. 

 To effect it, verbenas must be planted 4 

 inches apart, and geraniums from 6 inches 

 to 8 inches. Measure the superficies of 

 your beds ; calculate at these distance.?, and 

 increase your stock accordingly. With the 

 exception of calceolarias certainly, and 

 probably geraniums, nearly all other bed- 

 ding plants grow and flower as well, if not 

 better, when propagated in the spring as in 

 the autumn. Geraniums grow equally well ; 

 but I think autumn-struck cuttings flower 

 more freely, and certainly two, three, or 

 four-year old plants flower more freely than 

 any cuttings whatever. 



Bedding out, Propagation for. The 

 great business of propagating tender plants 

 j for fnrnishing the flower garden must now 

 be i^orously prosecuted. Stock must be 

 takeu, calculations made, judgment and 

 foresight exercised, and activity displayed, 

 if the garden is to be liberally filled next 

 May. For the last few months, the great 

 object has been safely to keep what we 

 have. During the next three, the plants 



