FAVOURITE GREENHOUSE PLANTS 449 



manure or leaf mould. Careful watering will be required during 

 the dark days of winter, but as soon as the flower-buds begin to 

 form it may be given in generous quantities. An average tem- 

 perature of 45 to 50 should be maintained. 



Another fine primula is P. obconica, but the amateur should be 

 warned against attempting its cultivation if he is susceptible to 

 skin disease, since its leaves, if brought into contact with the hands, 

 often cause a painful form of eczema. 



SCHIZANTUUS. Of all the greenhouse plants that can be raised 

 from seed the schizanthus is unsurpassed for grace and beauty. 

 It is a half-hardy annual, whose flowers resemble butterflies, and 

 for this reason it is sometimes called the butterfly flower. The seed 

 may be sown thinly in pots from August to the middle of Sep- 

 tember to secure a spring display of bloom. The plants need cool 

 treatment at the outset, but must of course be kept free from 

 frost. For this reason it is necessary to grow them on during the 

 winter in a moderately warm house. Seed sown early in the year 

 will produce bloom towards the end of the summer. For the final 

 potting eight-inch pots should be used and the soil be made fairly 

 rich. 



SOLANUMS. A bright spot in the greenhouse during winter is 

 provided by a plant or two of Solanum capsicastnim (Star cap- 

 sicum). The plants are covered with bright red berries, and these 

 add to the cheerfulness of the house, which is being rapidly filled 

 with the flowers of winter carnations, arum lilies, Begonia de 

 Lorraine, and early forced bulbs. 



The solanum is a half-hardy shrub of the potato family, to 

 which, by the way, the tomato also belongs. Specimens may 

 be planted out of doors in a warm, sunny spot in May, and 

 be allowed to remain there until the end of September. They 

 are then potted in fairly rich soil, and after being placed in the 

 shade for a week, are transferred to the warm greenhouse. By the 

 end of November they make nice tall, bushy plants, full of plump, 

 handsome berries. The solanum can easily be raised from seed 

 sown in early spring in a temperature of from 55 to 65. 



