March 5, 1890.] 



Garden and Forest. 



115 



greenhouse in which an intermediate night temperature (/. e. t 

 a temperature of about fifty degrees) is maintained during the 

 winter months. Many attempt their cultivation in cooler houses, 

 and, being unsuccessful, the plants are regarded as worth- 

 less. Where proper attention is given to their requirements, 

 on the contrary, they are most useful and attractive. Young 

 plants are the most satisfactory, and they may be readily ob- 

 tained from cuttings. The points of robust shoots will be found 

 most suitable for cuttings ; and, early in April, they should be 

 inserted in pots containing sandy compost, then placed in 

 moderate bottom-heat, kept close and shaded until rooted. 

 Shading will then be unnecessary ; air may be admitted daily; 



the plants. The syringe must be used three times a day, so 

 that insects may be kept in check and the surrounding atmos- 

 phere kept in that moist condition which appears so essential 

 to the health of the plants- Less shading will suffice as the 

 weather grows cooler, and they will then require protection 

 at night. About the latter end of September they may be 

 removed to the house again, where the atmosphere should be 

 kept moist until they show signs of flowering. The moisture 

 in the atmosphere and use of the syringe may then be gradu- 

 ally decreased, and, finally, the syringing discontinued when 

 the first blooms expand. Attention to watering is now all that 

 is required to ensure a continuous display of bloom through- 



Fig. 25. — A Giant African Aloe (A. Bainesii). — See page 112. 



and, to induce bushy growth, the extreme point of each-cutting 

 should be pinched out. When new growths appear on the 

 cuttings they may be potted-off into three-inch pots — using a 

 mixture of loam, peat, leaf-mould and sand, in equal parts — 

 and grown-on in a warm house, in which a moist atmosphere 

 prevails. Five-inch pots will be found large enough to admit 

 the full development of such plants, and when well estab- 

 lished in these they may be removed to a cold-frame. Here 

 the pots should be plunged to the rim in ashes, or some such 

 material, and arranged so that the plants will be as near the 

 glass as possible. In summer the lights will not be needed, 

 except to protect the plants from heavy or too frequent rain- 

 storms. Shading from bright sunshine will be beneficial, but 

 it must be removed at night and during dull weather, and it 

 should never interfere with the free circulation of air about 



out the winter. Where it is desirable to obtain larger speci- 

 mens the plants thus obtained may be grown on during the 

 following season. Flowering will be discontinued early in 

 February, and the plants may then be removed to a sunny 

 house and rested slightly for a few weeks. They may be cut 

 back about the beginning of April, and, a few days after, again 

 placed in a growing atmosphere. When growth has com- 

 menced, turn them out of the pots, reduce the balls slightly 

 and repot in five-inch pots. On being returned to the house 

 they must be syringed overhead regularly, but great care 

 should be exercised in the application of water to the roots 

 until the plants get well started. Pinch the leading shoots 

 when the young roots reach the sides of the pots, and about 

 two weeks after pinching, the plants that have made good 

 progress may be potted-on into seven-inch pots, and removed 



