A>'D CONSEEVATOIIT. 93 



they will take no harm. It is, moreover, a most easy matter 

 to grow them into maguificent specimens. 



Supposing you have a few old plants to hegin with ; some 

 time in February, or the beginning of March, turn them out 

 of the pots, and divide carefully, according to the number 

 required. It is not desirable to divide them into small por- 

 tions when required for indoor decoration, as a few good 

 specimens have a much better effect than treble the number 

 of small plants with single spikes. An average of four spikes 

 to each specimen is the most suitable for ordinary purposes. 



Good fibrous loam, mixed with a liberal proportion of hot- 

 bed manure, will form a suitable compost. Use six-inch pots 

 to commence with, and after potting place the stock in a cold 

 frame until the pots are nicely filled with roots, and then shift 

 them into sixteen-inch pots. Admit plenty of air to keep the 

 growth short-jointed and hardy ; and towards the end of May, 

 place the plants out of doors in a shady corner, and be care- 

 ful to stand the pots upon a bed of coal ashes to keep the 

 worms out. Here they may remain until the flowers begin to 

 expand, when they will be taken to the conservatory. 



After the beauty of the flowers is past, remove them to the 

 open air, and cut away the old flower-stem, and in October 

 return to the cold frame, or heap a good thickness of coal- 

 ashes over the pots, and lay a few boards on the top to throw 

 the wet off. Where frame-room is abundant, they may be 

 potted in the autumn with advantage, because it gives them 

 an opportunity to get well established before they start into 

 new growth in the spring. 



Marica. — This is a genus of Irids for the greenhouse and 

 the stove. The proper soil for it is a mixture of loam, peat, 

 leaf-mould, and sand, but no manure. The most ornamental 

 species are, M. Sahini, M. ccerulea, M. Nortliiana, and M. 

 semi-aperta ; the latter is the hardiest, and may be grown in 

 either a greenhouse or a stove. At the foot of each stem on 

 which flowers are borne, young plants are produced ; like some 

 lilies, it is viviparous. As for the flower-stem, that arches 

 over until it touches the gtouud, and the cultivator should 

 allow it to do so, or the flowers will not open properly. 



MiGNoiTETTE is such a favorite that there will be no 

 question about the propriety of giving it a place here. And, 



