Il8 NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 



Form is the first ; the flowers should be nearly flat, 

 neither too much cupped nor in the least reflexed. Each 

 petal should be nearly equal in size, rounded at the end, and 

 quite smooth at the edges. The whole flower should be as 

 near a perfect circle as possible. It should be of such a 

 substance as to keep its form when expanded. If thin and 

 flabby it will turn backwards and forwards as it advances in 

 size, and the general effect will be marred. The size of each 

 bloom should be at least one inch and a-half in diameter. 

 The colours should be clear, distinct, and bright ; the edging 

 of the upper petals should also be uniform ; the dark blotch 

 should never run into the edging. The habit should be 

 rather dwarf than otherwise, and it should flower freely ; the 

 truss should stand well up above the foliage, and the 

 number of blooms forming the truss should never be less 

 than five ; each flower-stem should be long enough to bear 

 the flower as high as to form an even truss. 



By Cuttings. Cuttings may be put in and struck from 

 September to February ; the general time, however, is when 

 the plants have done flowering, and require cutting down to 

 make bushy plants for the next season. This generally 

 happens from the end of December to the beginning of 

 February. The best place to strike the cuttings is in a well 

 constructed propagating house ; but they may be very 

 successfully propagated in a frame set upon a thick coat of 

 coal ashes to keep out the worms. Upon this coat place 

 another of dry sawdust to plunge the cutting pots in. This 

 dry sawdust will serve to absorb the moisture from the earth 

 in the pots and the necessary waterings. The best soil is 

 pure loam mixed with sharp sand. The pots must be well 

 drained ; fill them to the top with the prepared loam. It 

 should not be pressed down too hard, but made firm enough 

 to hold the cuttings fast. Use it in a state neither wet nor 

 dry. The side shoots which have not flowered and are not 

 more than two inches long, make the best cuttings. These 

 should be cut off close to the stem. If taken off with a 

 sharp knife they will not require to be cut again at the 

 bottom, unless the cutting is too long ; then they should 

 have a clean horizontal cut just under a joint, to make the 

 cutting the right length. Cut off the bottom leaves close 

 to the stem, leaving only two of the uppermost. Place the 



