245 



filled with new soil similar to that in which they were propagat- 

 ed ; in these pots they may safely remain for a season, when they 

 must be transferred into larger pots, say twelve inches deep, 

 twelve inches wide at the top, and eight inches at the bottom, 

 (inside measurement). 



PROPAGATION BY SEEDLINGS. 



Croton Seedlings. For the benefit of those who care to raise 

 seedlings, a few hints are included for their guidance. Most of 

 the common varieties of the Croton flower and perfect their 

 seed, the quantity of seed produced is very variable ; the female 

 flowers are borne on a spike six to eight inches long, resembling 

 the tendril of a climbing plant ; the flowers mature and are suc- 

 ceeded by globular fruit ; these must be enclosed by a very light 

 coarse muslin bag, so that, when they become ripe and burst, 

 the seed contained in the berry may not be lost as they are scat- 

 tered to a great distance : by the use of the muslin bag, not only 

 are the fruit and seed secured, but light and air are admitted 

 into the bag ; when all the fruit from the spike or tendril have 

 dropped into the bag, remove it and place it in the snn for a few 

 hours, then sow the seed immediately (as they invariably deteri- 

 orate very rapidly by keeping) ; if fortune is propitious, some 

 very fine plants may reward the patience and perseverance be- 

 stowed in raising the seedlings. If the raising of seedlings is 

 made one of the customary gardening operations, it will soon, 

 by habit, become an amusement. 



GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. 



Crotons, like all other plants, absorb the nutriment they re- 

 quire by their roots ; this is passed through the stem into the 

 leaves where the greater portion of the liquid of which it is 

 composed is discharged, and the residue is submitted to the 

 action of the atmosphere; Carbonic acid is thus generated, 

 which is decomposed by the action of the light ; Carbon is then 

 fixed under the form of a nutritive material which is re-con- 

 veyed into the system of the plant, and thus its growth and 

 development are secured in proportion to the supply of the 

 nutriment. But it has been ascertained that a proportion of 



