48 



HOUSE PLANTS 



tops of Stems which are four to ten inches 

 high, and their pale, white cheeks just tinged 

 with blue or blushed with rose. In well- 

 grown specimens the individual flowers are 

 often an inch and a half across. The leaves 

 are almost round, sometimes four inches in 

 diameter, borne on long stems, and forming 

 a rosette supporting the flower stalks. The 

 hairs on the leaves are irritating or poisonous 

 to some people, which accounts to some 

 extent for the plant not being more popular. 

 Certainly it will grow in a more varied range 

 of temperature, and flower longer than any 

 other house plant. 



Sow the seed any time from January to 

 March. It may be sown later, but unless you 

 have a coldframe in which to shade the seed- 

 lings, the young plants will be more difficult 

 to manage. By May the seedlings should 

 be ready for thumb-pots. A few days 

 after potting, give abundance of air — 

 though keep shaded — and never allow them 

 to get dry. Syringe them on bright mornings, 

 and after the middle of September keep 

 the temperature about 50 degrees at night. 

 In potting and repotting — they will require 

 several shifts — take care not to press in too 



