CULTURE OF FAVORITE PLANTS. 
the summer, growing into large bushes with moderate care. They delight in a rich soil 
composed of one part cow-manure, one loam, one leaf-mold and one sand. They also 
delight in abundance of water during warm weather, and plenty of room for the great 
masses of roots which they form. They are most usually propagated by slips of young 
wood, but not infrequently by layering. This layering is of course peculiar, as these are 
pot plants in northern latitudes, and the process is thus: Shoots from the parent plant 
should be pegged down, near to a joint, in an adjoining pot full of the proper soil, but 
in which nothing is growing; a little damp moss, or, wanting this, a little cotton-batting 
kept moist and placed over the joint, will hasten the operation of rooting. They require 
but little rest, and will take it indifferently at any season; their accommodating habit 
should not, however, deprive them of due attention in this respect, as they will be all the 
better for one or two months’ rest. They will not flourish in less than fifty-five degrees, 
and frost will entirely kill them. As they are liable to be infested by mealy bugs and 
scales, they should be syringed at least once a day in the growing season. 
Od PRIMROSE. 
Primroses are very attractive flowers in all the varieties, but those 
most frequent in amateur indoor cultivation are of the species dis- 
tinguished as the Chinese. These bloom most freely during the latter 
part of winter and through the spring, and even often into the sum- 
y»mer. The leaves are soft and downy, sumetimes nearly round, and 
es in other plants so deeply dentate as to be called fern-leaved. The 
NA flowers are like delicate porcelain, and appear in upright clusters, each being 
® circular, with a plain or fringed margin. The colors are white, rose, and 
varying shades through to-crimson, with a greenish-yellow eye in the center. 
They can be grown from the side-shoots (used as cuttings or slips), which, 
when low down on the plant, start the rudiments of roots even before removal. 
The great trouble is that they are apt to damp off or decay at the base before 
rooting. The following method we have found successful. We take the cutting as soon 
as severed and dust the end with powdered charcoal; we then press it against the soil, 
taking care not to embed it too deeply, and often prop it to keep it upright; the next pro- 
cess is to cover it with a bell-glass or other glass shade, which is tilted slightly so as to 
admit fresh air. We administer a spoonful of water about every two days. These Prim- 
rose cuttings require a moist, still atmosphere when taking root, but should they show 
signs of damping off, or becoming sickly, which is evidenced by the leaves becoming 
yellow, a little dry sand, charcoal or brickdust supplied around the base will help them. 
They do not thrive if too damp, as a softness or rot attacks the stalk, a fine plant often 
looking quite healthy at the top when it is gone past redemption just above the root. The 
leaves, when torn and faded, should be broken off only halfway up the stem, as otherwise 
the disease mentioned is sometimes produced. They should be kept in a shady situation, 
and not watered much in summer, as that is their dormant season. When the central stalk 
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ce, 
Fire eee 
