TUBEROUS AXD EHIZOIIATOUS ULOWEES. 71 



may be planted in pots, to be brought forward in hot- 

 beds under glass. For a bloom in September or Octo- 

 ber, plant about the middle of July. For a bloom 

 throughout the season, commence in February, and 

 plant every fortnight or three weeks. In September, 

 plant in a frame, and you will have a bloom about J anu- 

 ary or February. But it must be confessed, that the 

 Eanimculus loses, by forcing, much of its strength of 

 stem and brilliancy of colour ; and there is a time for all 

 things, — even for Eanunculuses to keep out of sight. 

 IrVe do not want every day to behold the very same 

 flower, any more than we desire- every day to partake of 

 the very same dish. 



Tropceolum. — See " The Kitchen- Garden,'' art. Nas- 

 turtium, p. 130. The difficulty of getting T. tuberosum 

 to flower, is merely that our summers are not long 

 enough. In November, it will often show abundant 

 bloom : but it must develop its quantum of leaves 

 before it begins to form flower-buds. The best remedy 

 is to bring it forward in a greenhouse in a pot, and after- 

 wards plunge that pot where the plant is to stand. It 

 is an exceedingly useful and pretty climber, a3 is also 

 the T. canariensis or aduncum, the Canary-bird flower, 

 which does not form a tuberous root, but must be treated 

 like the common garden Nasturtiums, i. e., as half-hardy 

 annuals. Another exceedingly graceful tuberous species 

 is T. tricolorum, the tricoloured (black, red, and yellow) 

 Tropaeolum, from Valparaiso, which is almost always 

 in flower. Its very slender trailing stems must be sup- 

 ported on a frame-work of wire, which may be modelled 

 as vases, parasols, columns, peacocks' tails, &c. 3 and 

 which will be completely clothed by the lively foliage and 

 flowers of the plant. The tuber, unfortunately, is not 

 hardy, and the species is mainly adapted for in-door cul- 

 ture. Paxton advises that the foot should not be buried, 

 but only placed on the surface of the soil, so that its fibrous 

 roots may penetrate it. The tuber, thus established, will 

 grow in a truly astonishing manner ; and although the 

 plants may not luxuriate the first season, they will after- 



