352 florists' flowers. 



eyer, shall wo deal in this place, but shall confine our 

 remarks to those varieties grown as Florists' Flowers, the 

 origin of which is very doubtful. Like the Calceolaria, 

 many varieties are named, and are perpetuated by cuttings ; 

 but as a batch of seedlings from a good strain will produce 

 almost every shade of colour, the amateur could employ the 

 extra care and attention which cuttings require with greater 

 advantage. Cinerarias require a good rich soil to grow them 

 well ; we have found that a compost of turfy loam, fibrous 

 peat, good leaf mould, and well-decomposed manure, in 

 about equal parts, will suit them well, if a moderate share 

 of sharp sand be added to the whole. The same treatment 

 as that recommended for sowing Calceolarias will answer in 

 this case ; but where plants are required for winter flowering, 

 the seed must be sown in April or the beginning of May, 

 and if for spring blooming, in July and August. The 

 Cineraria succeeds best when grown in a frame or pit, even 

 in cold weather, of course excluding frost from them. They 

 are fast-rooting plants, and should never be allowed to suffer 

 from want of room ; for if such is the case the foliage will 

 be small and deformed, and the trusses of bloom thin and 

 poor. The green fly is a great enemy to the well-doing 

 of these plants ; it must be kept down by frequent light 

 fumigations, for on no account may Cinerarias be subjected 

 to a heavy smoking, or the remedy will prove as bad as the 

 disease. 



Cockscomb [Celosia cristata). 



This favourite old annual has been somewhat neglected ; 

 but, like many other such things, it is now again asserting its 

 right to public notice. Several other kinds introduced from 

 the Japanese gardens are very handsome, although not pro- 

 ducing a large Cockscomb-like inflorescence as C. crista to. 



