330 THE FLORIST AND 



vegetable matter in the last degree of decomposition, inert, and 

 worse than useless when used alone. I have seen a black unctuous, 

 sour mass of bog-mold carefully stored as being "just the stuff 

 for Azaleas." Such "stuff" when composted with barn-yard ma-* 

 nure and other substances may be formed into a valuable applica-*- 

 tion for hungry soils, but for the growth of delicate rooted green- 

 house plants it is injurious rather than beneficial. 



During the plants growth, attention should be given to pinching 

 the points out of strong shoots, and otherwise, prune and tie out to 

 preserve a uniform habit. Towards the end of June, the young 

 wood will assume a brown colour, when this is observed, the plants 

 should be taken out of the house and placed in a situation where 

 the mid-day sun can be kept from them by shading or other means, 

 this will be a salutary check on the growth and favor ripening of 

 the wood and formation of flower buds. About the month of Au- 

 gust they should be placed in an exposed position, and the pots 

 plunged to preserve the roots from sudden changes of wet and dry. 

 After remaining two months in this position the point of every 

 shoot will feel round and hard, indicative of a well set head of bloom. 

 After removal into the house they should be rather sparingly 

 watered andUkept cool and airy, unless they are wished to flower 

 early, which is easily attained by placing them in a warmer tem- 

 perature. 



Cuttings of the young wood strike root very readily in the 

 spring, especially of the large leaved varieties. The smaller leaved 

 sorts grow better when grafted on such as Phoenicea, a strong 

 growing variety, easily increased by cuttings. Very fine standard 

 plants may be produced by grafting on tall stems. I once saw a 

 plant of variegata, grafted on a four feet stem as beautifully depend- 

 ent as a weeping willow. Delta. 



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