CALCEOLARIA. 



THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. CALCEOLARIA. 455 



many species have been introduced, though 

 few are very effective for gardens, but if 

 well grown and placed they are pretty, and 

 sometimes brilliant border or rock plants, 

 thriving in warm and dry soils. C. 

 discolor is a beautiful S. American 

 plant, from i to IT? ft. high, with fleshy 

 leaves, pale green above and purple be- 

 neath, and bright-rose flowers in a long 

 raceme, i^ in. across. C. giandiflora is a 

 handsome annual with showy blossoms. 

 It thrives in a warm and good loam, and 

 blooms throughout the autumn. C. 

 oppositifolia is a distinct plant, and is 

 well marked by its larger, very thick, 

 succulent leaves and delicate white 

 flowers. C. speciosa has flowers from \ to 

 i in. across, purple-crimson ; on sunny 

 mornings they open fully, closing early 

 in the afternoon. C. umbellata is a dis- 

 tinct and pretty plant, the flower 

 dazzling magenta-crimson. It does well 

 in fine sandy peat or in other light 

 earth, and is perennial on dry soils and 

 in chinks in a well-drained rock-garden, 

 readily raised from seed sown in pots 

 or in the open air in fine sandy soil. It 

 may also be treated as an annual sown 

 in frames very early in spring. Chili. 



There are other kinds, such as C. Lind- 

 leyana, C. procumbe?is, C. compressa, and 

 C. micrantha, but not so good as the kinds 

 just mentioned. 



CALCEOLARIA (Slipper Flower). 

 Handsome and distinct herbs or low shrubs 

 of the Foxglove Order, mostly from 

 South America. Many of them are of 

 high garden value, but few are hardy. In 

 the London district they are employed 

 very much less than they were some 

 years ago, as many of the varieties 

 die from disease, or are short-lived as 

 regards bloom, but the handsome C. 

 amplcxicaulis, with its bold habit and 

 lemon-yellow flowers, is always a 

 favourite. 



PROPAGATION. The best time for pro- 

 pagating the shrubby varieties is the 

 end of September and October, in a cold 

 wooden or turf frame on a dry bottom ; 

 fill it to within 6 in. of the top with sandy 

 loam, and over that spread some clean 

 silver sand. Then select stubby firm side 

 shoots, pick out any flower-spikes that are 

 visible, remove one or two of the base 

 leaves, cut horizontally below a joint with 

 a sharp knife, and dibble them thickly, 

 regularly and firmly into the frames, giving 

 a sprinkling of water through a fine rose 

 to settle the soil and to prevent their 

 flagging. Keep the frames close and 

 shaded for a day or two, but afterwards 

 remove the shading, and only use it 



during the succeeding month to counter- 

 act the effects of bright sunshine. 



WINTERING. These frames require no 

 further care beyond protection from frost, 

 by covering the sashes, and banking up 

 the sides, if of wood, with soil. Wooden 

 boxes, seed-pans, or pots might also be 

 used for striking Calceolarias in ; and in 

 them the plants might be wintered in 

 any pit, greenhouse, or conservatory. 

 Whether propagated in frames or boxes, 

 they should be transplanted farther apart 

 than previously, into other frames filled 

 with rich open soil, where they will 

 become fit for planting out by the middle 

 of May. 



SPRING PROPAGATION. Spring cut- 

 tings are mostly rooted in hotbeds, in 

 boxes, or in pans, and often as many damp 

 off as survive to become plants ; neverthe- 

 less, where the stock is deficient, this 

 mode must be resorted to. It is best to 

 strike them after the middle of March in 

 pure sand in a hotbed or propagating pit 

 where there is no stagnant moisture, and, 

 when well rooted, to pot them, or put 

 them in boxes in light sandy soil, still 

 keeping them in warm quarters for a few 

 days. After that, gradually shift them 

 into places in which there is less heat. 

 Powdered charcoal or wood ashes strewed 

 on the soil among the cuttings prevents 

 damp, and the watering-pot should be 

 used judiciously. 



Species of Calceolaria. Apart from the 

 varieties, a number of species are of some 

 merit for the flower garden, and some are 

 neglected and unknown. The greater 

 number of them inhabit mountain valleys, 

 and ascend to an elevation of from 13,000 

 to 14,000 ft. within the tropics in South 

 America, where they enjoy a temperate 

 climate. 



C. alba. A lovely sub-shrubby species 

 from Chili growing 3 to 4 ft. high, with 

 clusters of snowy white flowers. A native 

 of Chili. 



C. amplexicaulis. A fine bold kind 

 with soft green leaves clasping the stem 

 and many lemon-yellow flowers. Owing to 

 its tall habit it groups well with bold plants, 

 and it is usually handsomer in autumn 

 than any of the other kinds. Ecuador. 



C. hyssopifolia is one of the best of 

 the small-growing kinds, bearing loose 

 clusters of lemon-yellow blossoms from 

 early summer till autumn, the foliage 

 resembling that of Hyssop. Ecuador. 



C. Kellyana. A curious hardy hybrid, 

 with short downy stems, 6 to 9 in. high, 

 flowers about an inch across, of a deep 

 yellow with numerous small brown dots, 

 and two or three grow together on the 



