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CULTURE OF FAVORITE PLANTS. 



the summer, growing into large bushes with moderate, care. They deHght in a rich soil 

 composed of, one part cow-manure, one loam, one leaf-mold and one sand. They also 

 delight in abundance of water during warm weather, and plenty of room for the great 

 masses of roots which they form. They are most usually propagated by slips of }oung 

 wood, but not infrequently by layering. This layering is of course peculiar, as these are 

 pot plants in northern latitudes, and the process is thus: Shoots from the parent plant 

 should be pegged down, near to a joint, in an adjoining pot full of the proper soil, Inil 

 in which nothing is growing; a little damp moss, or, wanting this, a little cotton-battiiiL; 

 kept moist and placed over the joint, will hasten the operation of rooting. Thev reciuir'. 

 but little rest, and will take it indifferently at any season; their accommodating habit 

 should not, however, deprive them of due attention in this respect, as thev will be all the 

 better for one or two months' rest. They will not flourish in less than fifty-five degrees, 

 and frost will entirely kill them. As they arc liable to be infested bv mealy bugs and 

 scales, they should be syringed at least once a day in the growing season. 



Sfia 



Primroses are very attractive flowers in all the varieties, but those 

 most frequent in amateur indoor cultivation are of the species dis- 

 tinguished as the Chinese. These bloom most freely during the latter 

 jjart of winter and through the spring, and even often into the suni- 

 mer. The leaves are soft and downy, sometimes nearly round, and 

 in other plants so deeply dentate as to be called fern-leaved. The 

 are like delicate porcelain, and appear in upright clusters, each being 

 with a plain or fringed margin. The colors are white, rose, aiul 

 \ arying shades through to crimson, with a greenish-yellow eye in the center. 

 They can be grown from the side-shoots (used as cuttings or slip--), which, 

 when low down on the plant, start the rudiments of roots even before removal. 

 The great trouble is that thev are apt to damp off or decay at the base before 

 rooting. The following method we have found successful. We take the cutting as soon 

 as severed and dust the entl with powdered charcoal; we then press it against the soil, 

 taking care not to embed it too deeply, and often prop it to keep it upright; the next pro- 

 cess is to cover it with a bell-glass or other glass shade, which is tilted slightly so as to 

 admit fresh air. We administei a spoonful of water about every two days. These Prim- 

 rose cuttings require a moist, still atmosphere when taking root, but should they show 

 signs of damping off, or becoming sickly, which is evidenced by the leaves becoming 

 vellow, a little drv sand, charcoal or brickdust supplied around the base will help them. 

 The\ do not thrive if too damp, as a softness or rot attacks the stalk, a fine plant often 

 looking quite healthv at the top when it is gone past redemption ju-t above the root. The 

 leaves, when torn and faded, should be broken off only halfway up the stem, as otherwise 

 the disease mentioned is sometimes produced. They should be kept in a shady situation, 

 and not watered much in summer, as that is their dormant season. When the central stalk 



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