of the Auricula and Polyanthus. 131 



— I should not think of giving more than two or three shillings 

 per root, [from fifty to seventy-five cents.] The best time, 

 I believe, to remove them, is the latter part of October, or any 

 time during the month of November: I would have them very 

 dry before packing; indeed, they are always kept in that state 

 during the winter months. 1 would have them packed in dry 

 moss, and as close as possible, to keep them from being injured 

 by dampness. I once received a box of plants from Manches- 

 ter that had been packed between forty and fifty days; the pack- 

 age had been sent by the way of London to me, and had, by some 

 mistake, been left at the coach office there, more than a month. 

 I saved, however, nearly all of them. The voyage from Liv- 

 erpool to Boston is not often longer than that time, and by having 

 them at that season, they would arrive here the latter part of De- 

 cember; and, by good management, I believe they might be 

 received in good order. They should be potted as soon as pos- 

 sible in some good rich light earth, and set in a cool part of the 

 green-house, though I do not think the green-house a proper 

 place to grow them in; they do not require artificial heat: indeed 

 I consider it very hurtful to them. I formerly kept mine in a 

 cold frame during the winter and spring months. 



We will now suppose ourselves in possession of a collection 

 of these beautiful flowers, and the season the month of March. 

 My practice was to have some good rich earth prepared, say 

 equal parts of dung from an old cucumber bed, and sheep ma- 

 nure, and good rich maiden earth, with about one-tenth of the 

 whole of coarse road grit or sand; this ought to lay twelve or 

 eighteen months, and be frequently turned, taking care after turn- 

 ing it to throw it into a ridge, to carry off the rains. With this 

 prepared compost I always top-dressed my plants. I used to 

 break the surface of the earth on the pots, and if there were any 

 ofFsetts, removed them carefully, and potted them into small pots 

 by themselves; if they were very small, I generally put two or 

 three round the sides of the pot, and labelled them to correspond 

 with the name of the parent plant. Then fill up the space oc- 

 casioned by the removing of the earth with some of the prepared 

 compost. 



From the time the plants are top-dressed they will grow very 

 fast; water may be given freely, but this, in some measure, will 

 depend on the state of the atmosphere: should the weather be 

 frosty, of course water must be used sparingly. They should 

 also now have the benefit of warm showers that sometimes occur 

 at this season, should they even last for several hours, so that 

 the roots at the bottom of the pots may receive the benefit of 

 them. I did not cover my plants very warm during their inactive 

 state; I think a single mat was sufficient, but perhaps in this 

 climate more covering may be necessary. It should be observ- 



