General Notices. 323 



winds of our March, nor the hot dry air of our July and August, but an im- 

 itation of our soft balmy days of April and May. Though they enjoy 

 " abundance of moisture," actual stagnant damp is certain destruction. 



Jf the cultivation be carried on on the above principles, these plants, when 

 in bloom, will be clothed with fine green, healthy foliage, which is " a cer- 

 tain sign that the roots are active." When the plants have done blooming, 

 cut off the flower-stalks, but not too low, "just above the ibliage," and re- 

 move them to a cold frame, facing north or east. If any green fly appear, 

 immediately fumigate well with tobacco. In the day time keep the lights 

 dose, except in verij ivarm weather, when tilt them ; shade also from the 

 glaring sun. At night remove the sashes altogether, (except in very heavy 

 rains,) as the night dews are very beneficial; by this treatment they will 

 soon begin to throw up young shoots. 



Propa3;ation. — Select a place shaded from the mid-day sun, say under a 

 north wall or hedge (not under the drip of trees ;) spread six inches of 

 rough cinder or coal ashes over the space requisite to hold the number you 

 want, then put on six inches of the following compost : — leaf-mould, loam, 

 and silver-sand, in equal quantities ; the whole passed through a fine sieve. 

 Let the rough be placed next to the ashes, and over all this put half an inch 

 of silver-sand ; water the whole ; place on the land lights to mark the 

 places. Take young shoots, as above-mentioned, in the beginning of Sep- 

 tember, prick them in the prepared bed, and place over them the glasses, 

 keep them close, syringe them frequently, and not many will fail to grow. 



Time of potting. — Pot the cuttings, when rooted, into four or five-inch 

 pots to winter in. In February give them a shift into six or seven-inch 

 pots, and when the roots reach the outside of this soil, put them into their 

 blooming pots, say from eight to twelve-inch pots, according to the proba- 

 bilities of the plant. 



Soil. — For wintering, loam and leaf-mould, one part each, and half a part 

 of sand ; for February potting, loam and leaf-mould, one part each, sand 

 and rotten dnng half a part each, and for final potting add more dung. — 

 [Floricultural Cabinet.) 



On the Culture of Aciiimenes. — Few plants arc more beautiful 

 than these, or will better repay careful attention and management. In 

 order to obtain fine bushy specimens, the following treatment has been 

 found useful. A box, or cutting-pan, is prepared, by filling three parts of 

 it with a compost of equal parts of loam and leaf-mould, on which the roots 

 are laid, and covered two inches in depth with the same compost. These 

 startings are in January for May and June blooming, in March for July, 

 August, and September blooming, and in the latter end of May A. coc- 

 cinea, A. rosea, A. Jaquii, and A. pcdunculata for December and January, 

 Until the shoots have appeared above the surface they must be kept mod- 

 erately dry. When the plants are about two inches high, raise them from 

 the box or pan in which they were started, and put them in thoir flowering 

 pans, leaving a space of two inches between each plant, and using the same 

 compost as recommended above, enriched by the addition of one-fourth part 

 of old mushroom-bed dung, which will help to meet the great demand on 



