2SO PLANT CULTURE 



pot, then run in dry sand and stand the pots in the warmest part 

 of the house, where they will be free from drip. They should be 

 kept in a temperature not lower than 60 degrees during the Winter. 

 Plants in pots will soon begin to look badly unless they be kept 

 in a warm, close house. To rest them, withhold water gradually, 

 and when the leaves are nearly gone, remove the pots to the driest 

 and warmest part of the house, placing the pots on their sides. If 

 room cannot be spared the plants may be knocked out of the pots 

 and stored like the outdoor collection. 



Propagation. Many of the kinds form small tubers on the 

 sides of the large ones; these are easily detached and grown on. 

 Again, many sorts, especially some of the finer and recently intro- 

 duced varieties, do not make these small tubers, or not in large 

 enough numbers to be of much service ; but it wiU usually be found 

 that the large tubers have one or more eyes generally at the sides. 

 These, if taken off with a piece of the tuber attached, either before 

 or after starting, will make small plants the same season. In sepa- 

 rating from the parent tubers dust the cut surfaces with powdered 

 charcoal, to prevent decay. If taken off before the tubers are 

 started, put the pieces in warm sand to hasten the formation of roots. 

 The propagation of C. odoraia should be attended to during Febru- 

 ary. Cut up the long stems into pieces with a dormant eye to each 

 piece, dust them over with powdered charcoal to prevent decay, 

 and lay them in the sun to dry for a day or so ; afterward put in moss 

 not too wet, in a warm frame, where they will sprout much in the 

 same manner as stove Alocasias. Pot as soon as the roots are suffi- 

 cient in number. 



CANNAS. These handsome subjects mark a wonderful de- 

 velopment by the plant breeder. At first the Cannas were only 

 prized as foliage plants; the petals were narrow and the flower was 

 very unattractive. Now we have an excellent series of wonderful 

 Cannas with superbly colored gigantic flowers, all of which are of 

 easy culture and great value for the garden, where they are planted 

 in formal beds or mixed in the perennial border. The beginning 

 was made in Europe, and from the first of the improved forms 

 numerous fine varieties have been raised in America, so that now 

 anyone can take a few good flowered sorts, pollinate the flowers, 

 and among the resulting progeny will be found some as good, if not 

 better than the parents. A new race has recently sprung up known 

 as the Orchid-flowered Cannas; these have been secured by crossing 

 the Crozy section with the large, yellow-flowered C. flaccida. The 



