158 FAMILIAR GARDEN FLOWERS. 



neglect it for some months^ when it was again taken 

 care of, in due time flowering again, unless, as often 

 happened, it died through being forgotten. The conse- 

 quence of this treatment was that its beauties were never 

 _ fully developed, and there is some evidence of the poor 

 state of the plant in the figure of it that appears in 

 the Botanical Magazine in the year 1788 {t. 44). When 

 the right way to cultivate the plant was discovered, a 

 wonderful change took place ; the flowers were enlarged in 

 size, they became richer and more various in colour, more 

 deliciously fragrant, and their profusion became a matter 

 of astonishment. It is quite a common event to see Per- 

 sian cyclamens with from fifty to a hundred flowers, all 

 fresh and perfect, and we once saw a plant that must have 

 had at least five hundred blossoms ; it was presented at a 

 meeting of the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural 

 Society by Mr. Wiggins, on the 12th of February, 1884. 

 That plant was at least seven years old, with a corm nearly 

 as large as a baby's head. To grow such a plant is not 

 exactly an easy task, but we shall describe the routine, and 

 it will be at the discretion of the amateur to follow it, 

 whether for the production of neat little plants or for 

 giants of high renown. 



It is of the utmost importance to begin with good 

 seed. The best time to sow it is as soon as it is ripe, 

 which will be in June or July. Sow in pans filled with a 

 mixture of equal parts peat, loam, and leaf-mould, with 

 silver sand added to cause the mixture to feel gritty 

 between the fingers. The compost must be well chopped 

 up and mixed, but must not be sifted ; and the seed must 

 be very lightly covered. A temperature of 75° Fahr. is 

 required to get the seed up nicely, and a cucumber house 



