220 THE FLORIST AND 



made a very weak solution of sulphate and carbonate of ammonia, and there- 

 with watered the roots of the plants once a day, in the evening ; and to 

 insure any observed results as to the effect of the ammonia, certain rows of 

 the plants on the stage of the greenhouse were selected for the experiment. 

 In a few days the effects of the ammonia were most marked and satisfa c„to- 

 ry. The leaves began to put on a very remarkable appearance, the course 

 of the veins, or spiral vessels, becoming perfectly green, the colour com- 

 mencing at the basal portion of the midrib, and thence spreading through 

 all the reticulations, until the tissues were perfectly restored to their 

 normal and healthy condition ; and, in fact, the plants thus treated looked 

 more vigorous than they had ever done before, being much darker colour 

 and firmer in texture. T}ie contrast between these plants and those which 

 had received no ammonia left no doubt about the efficiency of the ap- 

 plication. I forget the effects upon the flowering of the Pelargoniums, 

 but there was certainly no deficiency of flowers on the Fuchsias and Roses ; 

 they were, moreover, finer and better coloured than usual. On a subsequent 

 occasion a gentleman's gardener applied to me in a similar dilemma ; he 

 had a house full of fancy Pelargoniums preparing for a flower-show, at 

 which he expected to take the first prize. Just as the trusses of flower buds 

 were emerging, and there was every prospect of a good bloom, the lower 

 leaves of the plants began to turn yellow and spotted, and then to fall off, 

 leaving the plants bare, where the foliage was considered an essential point 

 of beauty. I examined the roQts and found them nearly filling the pots, it 

 was therefore evident there was not sufficient nutriment left in the pots to 

 meet the extra demand made by the large number of flower-buds; the lat- 

 ter were, consequently, deriving their nourishment from the leaves — the 

 natural storehouse of the food of plants during the growing season — and of 

 course exhausted the lower leaves first. They were treated precisely as in 

 the former instance, and with the same results ; the lower leaves became 

 healthy, and the flower-buds progressed favourably to maturity, being of 

 good form and colour. The success of these experiments became known 

 to other gardeners in the neighbourhood, some of whom were equally suc- 

 cessful, while others did not derive that satisfaction from the use of the am- 

 moniacal solution, either from not understanding the principle of its appli- 

 cation, or from a desire to accomplish more than they were capable of, when 

 it frequently happened the plants became too vigorous to flower well. There 

 is no doubt but that M. Ville is correct in stating that the flowering is ar- 

 rested if the application of ammonia is made at a certain period of the de- 

 velopment of the flower-buds. Few plant3 if grqwn too vigorously will 

 flower well, if at all. A certain check in their growth is absolutely necessa- 



