0]lA(EFrL liKlTZlA. 19 



can fiud. First pruiH' tliem a litlle, very little, to give 

 them a neat shape ; tlieii tiii'n tlieni out ot the jMjts eare- 

 t'ully, lousen the ball tenderly to shake out some of the old 

 soilj and plant tliern far enough apart to allow for free 

 growth without crowding. Should culd A\'eather follow, 

 put large pots or baskets ovei' them at night ; water 

 moderately until they begin to grow freely, and then give 

 not another drop all through the season. You are to 

 observe that a moderate growth is required; a veiy strong 

 growth is of no use, for the tlowers will not come out of 

 the tat shoots, but out of the wii'}' ones that arc short and 

 branchy, and 2)erfectly ripened. ^Vt the end of Sejitendjcr 

 lift them, prune back any ungainly rods, but use the knife 

 as little as jiossdjle, for there is a charm in the form Nature 

 gives a plant that no effort of art can equal. Pot them 

 in any kind of soil that is fresh and gritty, and in as small 

 pots as you can cram the roots into without cramping or 

 needing to reduce them in any great degree. 



The rest is a mattei' of simple greenhouse management. 

 The plant is easi]\- forced, but it will bloom early and iinely 

 with the aid of the i.irdinary shelter of a }iit or greenhouse, 

 and will even bear a slight t(.iuch of frost. But a warm 

 greenhouse, properly managed, never admits the frost, and 

 we are not to think of such a t'ontingency in the Howering 

 of this delicate beauty. 



Pot culture throughout the year is a simjilc matter. 

 When the flowering is over, the longest shoots should be 

 slightl}' shortened, but severe pruning is not to be thought 

 of. When the new shoots have grown abmit an inch m 

 length, turn the plants out of the I'ols, remo\e the pots- 

 herds and some of the old soil and any roots that are 

 matted, taking care not to mutilate the roots roughly, and 



