FANCY CALADIUMS. 113 



together in single layers in boxes, or on shelves, where 

 they should be barely covered with sand, and kept in a 

 cellar, or room, where the temperature will be about 

 fifty-five or sixty degrees. In case anyone desires to 

 raise the "bulbs" from seed, the following brief directions 

 may be of value : Sow the seeds in February in pans or 

 in pots drained as above ; the soil should be the same as 

 for the bulbs, except that no manure should be used ; 

 cover lightly, and after syringing, shade and place in a 

 room with a temperature of sixty-five or seventy degrees. 

 The seeds will germinate in about two weeks, and the 

 plants will then need careful attention to prevent damp- 

 ing off. When large enough, they should be pricked 

 out in flats, placed in a brisk bottom heat, and later on 

 transferred to pots. Re-pot finally to the three-inch 

 size, and give the same care as large plants ; by the end 

 of July they should come into flower. When growth is 

 over, they should be dried off and stored for winter. 



From a good strain of seed, one should be able to 

 obtain a good collection of plants, but if it is desirable 

 to propagate any particular variety, cuttings of the 

 leaves should be taken soon after the plants finish flow- 

 ering. If the petiole of a leaf, with the lower half of 

 the blade attached, is set in the sand where it will have 

 bottom heat, a bud will soon develop from which a bulb 

 will form. 



FANCY CALADIFMS. 



The so-called fancy caladiums (Fig. 40), occupy about 

 the same place among the summer foliage plants as the 

 gloxinias do among the flowering ones, and much the 

 same reasons can be given for their popularity. Most of 

 the varieties in cultivation are from Caladium licolor, a 

 native of Brazil, and they naturally require a high tem- 

 perature for their perfect development. 



They are readily propagated, by removing the 

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