282 General Notices. 



leaves, they may be potted in small thumbs, and afterwards progressively 

 shifted till they are in pots of the required size : four and six-inch ] ots will 

 generally be found large enough. The soil proper for them consists of one- 

 half sandy loam, the other half leaf-soil, or leaf-soil and peat. The seeds 

 may be raised in a slight hotbed, where the plants may remain until they 

 are establisiied in their first shift ; they must then be removed to a cold 

 frame, open day and night, and covered with glass only during violent rain. 

 On the approach of frost, they may be removed to a cool, airy part of the 

 greenhouse, as near as possible to the glass, as, without abundance of light 

 and air, the flower-stems will be drawn, and the colors will be dim. They 

 require, at all times, an abundant supply of water, and, therefore, the pots 

 should be well drained to ensure a due circulation ; for few plants are more 

 impatient of stagnant water about their roots. Some recommend the plants 

 being placed a little deeper in the pot at each shifting, but that is a bad 

 practice, being calculated to cause them to damp ofl^ at the neck. In this 

 way, a succession of flowering plants may be maintained from November to 

 May ; those with the largest flowers and finest colors only should be re- 

 served for seed ; the others may be destroyed as soon as their beauty is 

 past. I anticipate that we shall, by and by, have spotted and variegated 

 varieties: perhaps, by impregnating the white and pink with each other, 

 something of the kind may be produced. Those intended for seed should 

 be placed in a drier atmosphere and higher temperature than ihe green- 

 house affords. 



In the cultivation of large specimens, either of the single or double vari- 

 eties, healthy young plants may be selected in the beginning of August, in 

 four-inch pots, with their roots just appearing at the outside of tlieball: 

 they may at once be transferred to pots a foot in diameter, prepared in the 

 most careful manner ; they should have not less than two inches of large 

 crocks in the bottom, then a thin layer of fine pieces, which should be cov- 

 ered with the fibres of turf or ])eat ; the soil may be the same as before rec- 

 ommended, but the loam should be in large turfy pieces, and mixed with a 

 third part of crocks and pieces of charcoal ; the whole should be carefully 

 placed in the pots, and mixed with pure but sharp sand in such a manner 

 that veins of it may run right through the mass; the soil ought not to be 

 pressed into the pots, but merely slightly shaken, and the pot beat on the 

 potting-bench. The plants should have been well watered a short time 

 previous to potting, and will not require a further supply for two or three 

 days. They may be placed on a gentle hotbed until they begin to grow, 

 but must not be allowed to remain longer than a week, when they must be 

 removed to a cold frame, and elevated upon inverted pots until their leaves 

 are on a level with the edges of the frame. Air must be increased grad- 

 ually for a few days ; afterwards, the lights may be taken off for two or 

 three hours, morning and evening, and during the middle of the day, and 

 at night, tilted upon the side opposite the quarter from whence the wind 

 blows. A slight shower in the morning or evening will be of benefit to 

 them, but not more than will sufliice to wet the leaves ; nor must heavy rain 

 be allowed to fall upon them ; for a thunder shower of very short duration 



