i 4 GARDENING FOR BEGINNERS 



tube open, and the pollen can be placed on the stigma with a fine 

 brush. 



The Auricula flowers from the middle to the end of April, and if 

 cross-fertilisation is effected at that time, the seed will ripen in July, 

 and as soon as it ripens, it may at once be sown. Use well-drained 

 flower-pots, those about five inches diameter are as suitable as any 

 other. The surface must be made quite level, the seed to be sown 

 thinly, and merely covered with fine soil. Place the flower-pots in a 

 hand-light on the north side of a wall or fence of some kind. The seed 

 will germinate in two or three weeks, at least some of it will. A larger 

 portion will be in the ground until February, when more seedlings will 

 appear, and the remainder of the seed will germinate at intervals for 

 twelve months or more. The seedlings should be pricked out as soon 

 as they can be handled. A medium sixty-sized flower-pot will contain 

 twelve or thirteen of these small seedlings. They must be grown on 

 in hand-lights or frames, and as soon as the plants have grown together, 

 they may be repotted again, this time three plants in the same sized 

 flower-pots. After a time they are again separated, and this time one 

 plant only in a pot. When well established, repot again into a small 

 forty-eight or a 4-inch flower-pot ; and in this size the plants will flower. 

 From the sowing of the seed until the time of flowering will be about 

 twenty-two months ; and it is needless to think that the time can be 

 shortened, for Auriculas cannot be forced into flower before their time. 

 A close atmosphere and artificial heat are fatal to Auriculas, either when 

 in growth or in flower. If they are flowered in a house, the plants must 

 be placed near the glass roof, and air must be admitted freely both under 

 and over the plants. All through the growing season the plants are 

 kept in frames, from which the lights are removed at every favourable 

 opportunity. 



General Culture. In order to give a clear and concise account of the 

 cultural requirements, we will suppose that it is the month of February. 

 The Auriculas should be removed from the garden frames into the Auri- 

 cula house. This is a span-roofed structure, say 10 feet wide, and any 

 required length, with a path in the centre, and side stages about 3! feet 

 wide, which will give a path of 2^ feet. The plants are placed within 

 1 8 inches of the glass roof, or even less, and they must also be surface 

 dressed. A portion of the old top soil is removed, and replaced with a 

 compost of one part good yellow loam and one part of decayed manure. 

 All offsets ought to be removed at the same time, and there is no better 

 season of the year for planting them. They seem to do best when 

 removed in February. Plant each offset separately in deep thumb pots, 

 using ordinary potting mould to three parts of the depth, filling up with 

 finely sifted sandy material. Plant the offsets firmly, and place them in 

 hand-lights. It is characteristic of the Auricula after its winter rest to 

 grow away rapidly, and the offsets partake of the character of the parent 

 plants ; they also grow freely and form roots more readily than at any 

 other period. In March the trusses will rapidly develop, and to obtain 

 the best results some care is necessary. They should be protected from 



