ON REARING FL0TVER3. 



163 



degrees. ^'^^len the plants have become sufficiently 

 rooted, they should be planted out in the borders, and 

 protected, if necessary, as before recommended. 



In planting, the roots should be placed full three inches 

 beneath the surface of the soil, and they should be planted 

 in a loamy soil, that is neither too poor nor too rich, as 

 well as in a very exposed situation, and on no account 

 beneath the shade of trees. After planting, they should 

 be watered when necessary, and staked as soon as possible, 

 as the succeedmg beauty of the plants depends much upon 

 staking them sufficiently early. It will be safer to invert 

 a flower-pot over each plant every night for two or three 

 weeks after they are planted, to protect them at once from 

 casual frosts, and from snails and slugs. They are very 

 liable to be eaten by the latter, and should be examined 

 frequently and with care. If large flowers are desired, 

 the plants should be slightly pruned, always taking off" the 

 shoots that are to be removed as soon as tliey appear, and 

 not allowing them to grow to any size before they are 

 detached. But, if a great abundance of flowers is wished 

 for, no pruning will be necessary, and all the attention 

 the plants will require, is to keep them properly secured 

 to the stakes with garden matting, and hang a few small 

 tubes on various parts of the plants for the purpose of 

 catching earwigs, which are very destructive to the flowers. 

 If the summer is very diy, a mulching of cow-dung may 

 be placed round the base of the stems of the plants, 

 which will keep the roots cool and moist. The roots 

 should be taken from the soil on the first appearance of 

 frost, having previously cut down the stems to within a 

 few inches of the ground. They must be gradually and 

 thoroughly dried, and after this has been properly 

 effected, and all the soil carefully detached from them, 

 each root should have a wooden label attached to it with 

 wire, on which some mark should be made by which the 

 grower will know what sorts they are, and their height 

 and colour ; and they may then be placed away for the 

 winter in a cellar or store-room, and kept as dry as possible 

 by covering them with an abundance of dry straw, but 

 not allomng the apartment to become too warm or they 

 will either grow or shrivel. Dry sand is an excellent 



