GEEEN- HOUSE PLANTS. 



169 



o^ the roots into lengths of about three inches, and 

 planting them in hoxes of light soil, and starting 

 them into growth by giving them frame protection 

 for a month or so afterwards. Perennial Lobelias, 

 being all but hardy, can also be wintered without 

 much trouble. "We place them thickly together on 

 the orchard-house borders, and split up the roots in 

 spring to any size or number needed, planting them 

 in boxes in the same way as named above. Seeds 

 sown early in spring, in gentle heat, make moderate- 

 sized plants by the end of summer, but produce little 

 flower that season, therefore preference should be 

 given to propagation by division. 



Coloured Foliage Bedders from Seeds 



-Amaranthus nwlancholicus ruber, once so popular, has 

 of late been somewhat neglected in favour of Alter- 

 nantheras, many of which are of the same bright 

 •colour, viz., a purplish crimson. The plant, however, 

 does not merit such treatment, for its uses and effec- 

 tiveness are, to say the least, equal to Alternantheras, 

 and stock of it is just as quickly increased, and 

 withal there is no wintering or house-room required 

 at that season. To get good plants by the end of 

 May, the seeds should be sown in March in pans of 

 light soU, the seeds to be covered very lightly indeed, 

 and be kept shaded till germination takes place, with 

 a view of preventing watering, which, if not done 

 very carefuUy, washes the seeds to the sides of the 

 pans. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they are 

 large enough to handle into other pans of light rich 

 soU, and keep in heat till the roots have got a good 

 hold of the new soil ; and from this stage they will 

 gi'ow well in a cooler temperature. They ought not 

 to be planted out till the first week in June, and like 

 a rich soil and a sunny aspect. 



Amaranthm caudatus (Love Lies Bleeding). — This is 

 as different to the first-named as it is possible for two 

 plants to be that belong to the same genus ; the first 

 rarely exceeds a foot in height, but this we have seen 

 five feet high, with long tail-like racemes of flower — 

 some four feet long. It is the perfection of a plant 

 for a back line to a ribbon border, or as a marginal 

 line round a bed of Eieinm (Castor Oil Plants). In 

 good soils the plants should not be nearer together 

 than two feet, or eighteen inches apart in ordinary 

 garden soil, and staking is required as soon as the 

 plants attain a foot or so in height ; the weight 

 of the racemes, renders such supports imperative. 

 If sown in pans about the middle of April and 

 placed in a temperature of 45°, the plants will be 

 ready for planting out at the end of May. It ought 

 not to be sown earlier than April, otherwise, being a 

 rapid grower, the plants are apt to get stunted before 

 it is safe to plant them out. 



fsriUa Ncmkinensis and P. laciniatus are two 



purplish-bronze-leaved plants of very easy culture, 

 as the seedlings may be raised under hand-lights 

 in the open air, and in the north of the kingdom. 

 "Where Coleus and Iresine do not flourish they are 

 excellent substitutes for them. Sow in March, prick 

 out the plants when a couple of inches high, and 

 cover with hand-glasses till established, then gra- 

 dually inure them to full exposure, and plant out 

 at the middle of May. 



Cineraria maritima, C. acanthifoHa, Centaurea ra- 

 gusina, C. Clementii, C. gymnocarpa, are all of them 

 silvery-grey, foliage plants, and are most valuable for 

 association with pink Pelargoniums, purple Verbenas, 

 or blue Lobelias. Sow in pans in February, and 

 place in heat till the seeds are well through the soU, 

 then on shelves in any house or pit having a tem- 

 perature of 55° or 60°. The seedlings to be trans- 

 planted into other pans when an inch high; keep 

 close till new growth is perceptible, then give them 

 a more airy position. Before the roots get matted 

 together, they should be either potted oif separately, 

 or else be planted in frames, or boxes, and in soil 

 containing a large percentage of leaf-mould, else it 

 wUl be difficult to move them to their final quarters 

 with balls of earth adhering, and this is essential to 

 the plants starting into kindly growth. 



GEEEN-HOUSE PLANTS. 



Bt William Hugh Goweb. 



Aloe.— This is a genus of old-fashioned succulent 

 plants. Some of them are very curious, and many 

 are extremely handsome and highly ornamental, 

 either in or out of flower. They are mostly natives of 

 South Africa, although some species are to be found 

 in aU warm countries. The drug called " bitter 

 aloes," used as a purgative and tonic, is famiUar to 

 the school-boy's ears as " household words," and is 

 the produce of some few species of this genus, which 

 are largely grown in the West Indies, the Cape of 

 Good Hope, and also in Zocotria, a little island 

 situated near the mouth of the Eed Sea. Their 

 medicinal virtues, however, wiU not interest our 

 reader so much as their ornamental qualifications. 

 Aloes are plants of the easiest cultivation ; indeed, 

 they may frequently be seen growing and flowering 

 with more vigour in a cottager's window than in 

 the best green-house and under the care of skUled 

 gardeners. They should be potted in sandy loam, 

 with a little old mortar rubbish added. The pots used 

 should be small ones, drained weU ; and during the 

 summer months they enjoy an abundant supply of 

 water ; during winter little or none should be given, 

 and the temperature should not fall lower than 4.5° 

 or 50°- 



