General Notices. 429 



MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



Art. I. General Notices. 



Growing Cinerarias. — When cinerarias have done flowering, cut off all 

 the flower stems and old leaves, and place them in a cold pit or frame, 

 which must be kept close for two or three weeks to cause the plants to 

 grow ; afterwards admit air freely by day, but keep them close at night ; 

 then about the beginning of August divide the old plants into pieces, and 

 put them into small pots, filled with a mixture of good loam and sandy 

 peat, to which may be added a small portion of well rotted dung. When 

 potted, return them to the pit or frame and keep them close ; afterwards, 

 as they grow, shift them into larger pots, and use a little manure water, 

 and finally, as the danger of frost approaches, remove them to the green- 

 house, where they will bloom well all the winter and spring, if kept free 

 from insects. The best kinds are Waterhousmncr, Royal Blue, Rival 

 King, Gem, Queen Victoria, Splendid, Eclipse. {Gard. CAron., 1843, 

 p. 289.) 



Treatment of Rodanthe Manglesix. — This beautiful annual is rarely seen 

 in any perfection. The following remarks may possibly lead to its more 

 successful cultivation. The seeds should be sown at two seasons : the 

 first, about the beginning of September; the second, about the end of 

 February. The soil the seeds are sown in should be rather strong, but 

 not rich, for the first sowing ; consisting of a mixture of sandy loam and 

 leaf mould : they should be sown in pots, and placed in a cold pot or 

 frame, (if sown in the autumn), which should be kept close until the plants 

 are up. The young plants should be potted off when small, for if allowed 

 to get large before potting, they never do any good ; put a single plant 

 into a small thumb pot : they must then be returned to the pit or frame, 

 and kept close until they recover the effects of the shift ; afterwards har- 

 den them by admitting air. Then, when there is danger of frost, remove 

 them to an airy part of the greenhouse for the winter, taking care that 

 they are not over-watered ; for much depends upon the manner in which 

 they are treated during the winter, as too much or two little water will 

 destroy the healthiest plants in a short time. In the spring (Feb.), repot 

 them into a richer, but light, sandy soil, and place them in a warmer and 

 moister situation, and prick off all the first flowers as they appear. The 

 spring, some plants maybe treated like other annuals; only they must 

 have plenty of air to keep them from being drawn up weakly. ( Gard. 

 Chron., 1843, p. 345.) 



Stei-ile Straivberry Blossoms. — There ought to be no flowerless plants in 

 strawberry beds, — not even amongst those of the Hautbois varieties. In 

 some soils, too much dung occasions great luxuriance of foliage, with but 

 little or no fruit. In such cases, a top dressing of fresh soil, different in 

 its nature from that in which the plants are growing, is preferable to rich 

 manure. {Gard. Chron., 1843, p. 417.) 



[This is the opinion of eminent cultivators and botanists in England, and 

 it accords with our remarks in a previous page. The truth is, that the 

 strawberry, when its blooms are perfect, has both sexual organs in one 

 flower, or in plain words, the blossoms are hermaphrodite, like the apple, 



