CALCEOLARIAS AND C ANNAS. 



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or frames, but can be more regularly attended to, watering and feeding with liquid 

 manure, in a cool greenhouse. Later plants may be rooted in October, and young 

 shoots, not very sappy, also root freely in gentle heat during the spring. A few 

 good shrubby calceolarias will be found in amplexicaulis, lemon yellow hybrid ; Golden 

 Gem, yellow; Game's Yellow, deep yellow; Souvenir, yellow hybrid; Sparkler, crimson 

 and gold ; General Havelock, crimson scarlet ; Sultan, dark crimson ; Victoria, dark 

 maroon. 



Diseases and Insect Pests. 



Calceolarias are liable to collapse somewhat suddenly and from causes difficult to 

 discover. It is at the beginning of the flowering period that the failure takes place, and 

 this may be attributed to an earlier loss of roots. If the old ball of soil containing the 

 roots is in a semi-dry state when the final shift is given, or if allowed to become very 

 dry before the roots have time to spread freely into the new soil, it is a difficult matter 

 to remoisten them, many of the roots perishing accordingly. The attempt to revive 

 the plants after flagging has indicated want of moisture, usually ends in soddening the 

 new soil, and that means failure. Newly potted plants ought, then, to be very carefully 

 watered, the old soil being kept uniformly moist without saturating the new, and the 

 plants should be kept somewhat close and shaded for a time and lightly sprayed with 

 clear water occasionally ; this prevents rapid loss of moisture by the leaves. Faulty 

 treatment is mainly responsible for this so-called " disease." The green aphis is very 

 apt to infest calceolarias, and throughout the plant's career this pest must be kept in 

 subjection, by gentle fumigations with tobacco, or by vapourising with other nicotine 

 preparations. The most successful growers of calceolarias rarely destroy insects, 

 because they take care to fumigate lightly and periodically to prevent their appearance, 

 the most effectual and also the most economical method that can be adopted. 



C ANN AS. 



Cannas have long been grown for the boldness and beauty of their leaves, masses of 

 them proving highly effective in the flower garden during the summer. These old 

 favourites also produce flower spikes more or less freely, but, as a rule, the individual 

 flowers are comparatively insignificant. The new large flowering hybrids raised by 

 Mons. Crozy and other florists are remarkable alike for their sturdy habit of growth, and 

 for the size, form, and beautiful colouration of the flowers. These approach gladioli in size 



