CULTIVATION OF THE CYCLAMEN. 17 



fruits and add to those for flowers, but he disliked debt in any form 

 and would not increase the prizes so as to prevent paying off our 

 debt, for our hall would not be our own until we had paid for it. 



Mr. Hovey spoke with approval of the custom in England of 

 giving'two equal first prizes, when objects av% so nearly matched 

 that it is difficult to discriminate between them. 



James Cruikshanks said that in England the prize lists were 

 divided into nurserymen's, gardeners' and cottagers' classes. The 

 object of the nurserymen is to get a medal which they can show to 

 their friends, while to cottagers the money is an object. Noble- 

 men and gentlemen are pleased to have their gardeners take 

 prizes. 



Edwin W. Bus well, treasurer of the society, spoke of the possi- 

 bility that our income may not always be as large as now, and of 

 the necessity of large expenditures on the building soon. He re- 

 marked that the plants, of the cost of which so much had been 

 said, were not grown solely for exhibition, and that the time and 

 money spent in collecting wild plants were not appreciated. 



MEETING FOR DISCUSSION. 



Saturday, January 31, 1874. 



James O'Brien showed several pots of remarkably fine Cycla- 

 mens, and read a paper describing his method of growing them as 

 follows : — 



The cultivation of the Cyclamen is very simple, and they 

 amply repay the little attention they require. As a house plant 

 they have no superior, and they are indispensable for cut flowers 

 in winter, their elegant forms and varied colors adding grace and 

 beauty to any combination of flowers, either in baskets, vases, or 

 bouquets. 



December is the best time to sow the seed, and in twelve to fifteen 

 months from the time the seed is sown, veiy handsome specimens can 

 be produced. The seed should be sown in pans, in a light sandy 

 soil, and with the assistance of a little bottom heat it will vegetate 

 in from five to six weeks after sowing. When the seedlings 



