100 THE PHILADELPHIA FLORIST. [August 



seeds, require particular attention from the time they are sown until,, . 

 the young plants take roothold in the soil. Q {j 



The following 1 have found a very successful method of vegetating \ 

 seeds of this character. Prepare a small sized, say a four inch pot, by 

 filling it two-thirds full with drainage and rough siftings of soil, and 

 fill up with a light rich compost, such as a mixture of fibry loam, sand 

 and leaf mould ; press it to a perfectly level surface and sow the seeds. 

 Now, insert this into an eight inch pot, first filling the latter with 

 moss until the rims of the two are level, pack between the two firmly 

 with the same material, and soak it thoroughly with water. By moist- 

 ening the soil gently in the first place and keeping the moss constant- 

 ly wet, the inner pot will absorb sufficient moisture to vegetate the 

 seed, and obviate the liability of disturbing the soil by top watering. 

 Evaporation will be further arrested by covering the whole with a 

 flat piece of glass. Light may also be excluded by a sprinkling of 

 sand on the glass. Light may or may not retard germination, but in 

 its exclusion the escape of moisture is in a measure prevented, and the 

 more appropriated germinating degree of dampness secured. 



When the young plants commence to grow they require to be trans- 

 planted. Unless this be attended to before they crowd each other, 

 many of them will decay. Plant them two inches apart in pots or 

 boxes, prepared the same as for seed ; the soil should be kept regularly 

 moist, but not wet. The front shelf in the greenhouse is perhaps the 

 most suitable situation for them all through their growth, until they 

 show flower'; when sufficiently strong place them singly in three inch 

 pots ; throw a syringe full of water over them occasionally, to keep 

 the surface damp. This, however, is independent of the regular wa- 

 terings, which must not be neglected. The only evil to be dreaded 

 is the green fly, and they are easily got rid of by filling the house with 

 tobacco smoke once in every two weeks or so. If this pest once get 

 a footing on Calceolarias they are done ; the leaves curl up with the 

 insects inside, no ordinary fumigation can reach them, and the growth 

 of the plant is completely arrested. 



From three inch I shift them into seven inch pots, the size they are 

 flowered in ; larger sized plants will be obtained by giving them more 

 pot room, but generally at the expense of bloom. All plants flower 

 most freely and perfectly when the pots are well filled with roots. 

 The reason is plain : So long as the roots find opportunity for in- 

 crease, extension of growth is favored and the flowering period re- 

 tarded. On the other hand, cramp the roots and luxuriant growth is 

 checked, and a flowering state induced — a physiological rule, which 

 is, as far as I am aw r are, without an exception. The soil should be of 

 a very porous character ; partially rotted turves mixed with a third of 

 ^decomposed manure, having a quantity of small pieces of charcoal in- £ 



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