314 Propagation of Stove and Greetihouse Exotics. 



from Johnsonti to equestris, — the seed, as soon as ripe, should 

 be collected, sown m pots, thoroughly dramed, and placed in 

 a hotbed, where they should be regularly shaded, when nec- 

 essary, and watered sparingly. Under this treatment, they 

 will vegetate quickly, and, when two leaves are produced, 

 they should be potted off separately into thumb-pots, well 

 drained, as above remarked. 



Care must be taken not to pot them deep, but to have the 

 young bulbs level with the surface of the mould, and, when 

 potted, give as much water as will reach the bottom of the 

 soil. They should then be placed in the hotbed for a few 

 days, and regularly shaded from the sun. When the bulbs 

 recede from the surface, they should have a shift into pots a 

 size larger, and so on during the summer, until, they are thor- 

 oughly rooted. By this treatment, many of them will flower 

 abundantly the following spring. I should have mentioned 

 that they require regular supplies of water, but not too much. 

 The following compost I have found exactly to suit: — Three 

 parts light turfy loam, two parts white sharp sand, and one 

 part turfy peat ; along with which treatment, an occasional 

 watering with clear liquid manure would not, by any means, 

 do injury. 



The bulbous genera generally, such as the Gladiolus, Mo- 

 rse^a, Ixia, Antholyza, &c. &c. should, when done flowering, 

 be allowed to dry till the following October. This is the 

 time for increasing by offsets, as then they are in a dormant 

 state, and will not receive any injury in separating them from 

 the parent. Nor will the parent's flowering principle receive 

 any check for the coming season. Small pots thoroughly 

 drained, and a compost composed of equal parts rich mellow 

 loam, peat earth, leaf mould, and sand, with the addition of a 

 little cow manure, will be found exactly suitable. After pot- 

 ting, let them be placed in a cool frame, when the only atten- 

 tion required is protection from heavy rain and frosts. No 

 moisture should be given further than the soil in which they 

 are potted furnishes, until the pots are full of roots, when they 

 should be shifted into pots a size larger, using the compost 

 above directed. They should then be taken into the green- 

 house, where many of the largest of them will flower if kept 

 regularly watered. 



Staten Island, N. Y., June, 1847. 



