MARCH GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 29 



Continue to head down Pelargoniums as the wood be- 

 comes sufficiently ripe ; shake out and repot those 

 already cut back, if not previously done. The tuber- 

 ous Tropceolums may now be potted ; it is better to 

 pot them in their blooming pots at once, as they are 

 very impatient of shifts. Allow Japan Lilies, Achi- 

 mines, and Gloxinias to become gradually dry as they 

 go out of bloom, placing the pots on their sides, when 

 the bulbs are sufficiently ripe ; they should not be 

 allowed to get dust dry, as this is the chief cause of 

 dry rot. To avoid this it may be neoe'ssary to sprinkle 

 the pots slightly from time to time with water. Shake 

 out and repot Amaryllis if they have been in their 

 pots more than two. years ; if not, surface dressing 

 will be sufficient. Where Hyacinths are grown in 

 pots they should be potted at once, keeping the neck 

 of the bulb above the surface of the soil ; plunge the 

 pots six inches deep in rotten leaves, peat soil, or some 

 other light material, on a warm border. 



FRUIT 



Hardy fruit should be gathered as soon as ripe, 

 which may be known by the colour of the pips and 

 by the stalk parting readily from the tree. Gather 

 with great care, and keep apart from the best all that 

 fall in the process. Gather only during dry weather, 

 and store at once in single layers ; avoid as much as 

 possible placing one on another. The fruit store 

 should be in a dark place, capable of being freely 

 ventilated, yet generally admitting but a trifling 

 current of air ; and it should be cool, and yet safe 

 from damp and frost. The planting season is near 

 at hand, aiid where alterations and improvements 



