THE MITRARIA. 129 



by allowing them to remain unpottecl for that time, 

 then put into small pots (3-inch), using a rough maiden 

 loam, with pulverised old manure and some crushed 

 bones mixed in the compost, and set in a warm house. 

 Those which are flat, triangular, and four- sided can be 

 freely propagated by cuttings of the branches or seg- 

 ments of the plants. Take the cuttings off at any time, 

 the summer being the best, trim them, and let them lie 

 on the shelf for a week, then insert them in pots filled 

 with the above compost, and set them in a mild dry 

 heat, and give them a little water. The seed of the 

 Cactus should be sown in pots or seed-pans filled with 

 the above compost, and put in a good heat. 



The Gesnera (Gesneracea). 



These are always classed with stove plants, but they 

 may be successfully reared in a good greenhouse after 

 they are once started into growth. This must be done 

 in a hotbed frame or a pit in the spring. What has 

 been said about the Achimenes, as regards starting the 

 roots into growth, applies to this plant also. The 

 Gesneras are a superb genus, remarkable for the richness 

 of their leaves as well as for their flowers. There is no 

 tribe of plants more diversified and beautiful than these. 

 When the plants have done flowering, dry them off 

 gradually, and, finally, take the bulbs out of the pots, 

 and store them away in dry pure sand in a warm 

 drawer till February or March. Their propagation is 

 by division of the root in some cases, by cuttings of the 

 leaves and stems, and by seed — (see the Achimenes and 

 the Gloxinia, pages 118 — 120). 



The Mitraria {Gesneracece). 



This is a very free-flowering, beautiful greenhouse 

 shrub. It produces Gesnera- like scarlet flowers on long 

 footstalks, which give to the flowers a beautiful drop- 

 like feature, somewhat similar to a Fuchsia, excepting in 

 the flowers themselves, which, instead of being sepaled 



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