TEE IVY GESAXIVM. 131 



render the whole porous. Should this prove too strong', 

 the proportion of miuiure must be reduced at the next 

 shift, but a certain degree of vigour is needed t(j bring out 

 the beauty of the plants. AVhen they have reached speci- 

 men size, and have flowered, they should be shaken out (jf 

 the old soil and have a moderate pruning, and be potted 

 back into smallish pots to go through the same course of 

 culture as before. Our practice, indeed, is to plant out 

 those that have run their course, or to throw them away, 

 trusting to young plants for specimens. 



As regards the training, care must be taken to allow 

 the growth some degree of freedom, for the severe hard 

 lines that are produced by tyiug in closely make a 

 mere burlesque of these elegant plants. In the early 

 stages one or two light stakes will suffice ; but as the 

 growth i)rogresses it will be well to insert three or four, or 

 even more, and draw them togetlicr at the top to form a 

 kind of cone. By training the leading shoots to these 

 stakes and leaving the side shoots in some degree free, a 

 neat contour without any hardness will be secured. In the 

 event of the plants becoming thin at the bottom, it will 

 be advisable to cut them back, and as soon as they begin 

 to grow again freely to give them a shift to the next size. 

 If crowded uji with other plants they are certain to be thin 

 at the base ; they should therefore stand apart, sn that the 

 light plays ecjually u])on them from head to foot. As a 

 rule they require all the light they can get, but at times 

 when the sun is high and the heat considerable, a little 

 shade will lie useful, and the path and the stage of the 

 house should lie sprinkled with water. 



The following are grand varieties of ivy geraniums, 

 and they are well adapted for first-class specimen culture : — 



