C ANNAS— CULTURE AND VARIETIES. 



3'9 



should be steady and uninterrupted, and the plants in due time shifted into 8-inch 

 pots, a suitable size in which to flower single-stemmed plants, similar to those grown by 

 Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Eeading, who oblige with the illustration (Fig. 146). 



If the old plants have been given less water after flowering and rested in a green- 

 house, as they should be for six or eight weeks, the dead tops may be cut off, and 

 enough water applied to moisten the soil. Re-start them in gentle heat, and directly 

 fresh growths are showing shake the clumps nearly free of the old soil, cut away dead 

 roots and shorten any old ones that are alive. The crowns may then be divided, 

 •or the clump can be left entire with a view to having large specimens. These clumps 

 may be placed in pots a size larger than those from which they were removed, and 

 no further shift will be needed ; or they may be placed in pots only just large enough 

 to hold the roots and transferred to larger pots directly they require it. A compost of 

 two parts of fibrous loam roughly broken up, to one each of either peat or leaf soil, and 

 good flaky manure, with sand and potsherds added, suits Cannas well. 



Give the plants the benefit of gentle heat till they are well established, but all 

 through the summer they make excellent progress and flower grandly, in either an airy 

 greenhouse or quite in the open. When colder weather arrives and throughout the 

 winter gentle heat is again requisite, also a very light position. "When first re-potted, 

 water must be applied sparingly, only giving sufficient to keep the soil perceptibly 

 moist ; but when the roots are well established in the new soil, large quantities are 

 needed, also abundance of liquid manure when the pots are filled with roots. Dryness 

 then, or lack of support, results in yellow leaves and spoiled plants. 



Young single- stemmed plants are found the most serviceable for grouping, con- 

 servatory, and house decoration, and these also flower later in the season than do older 

 plants with crowded growths. 



Twenty-four Good-named Varieties. 



Alphonse Bouvier.— Deep crimson, dwarf habit. 

 *Antoine Crozy.— Bright crimson, massive, medium 

 growth. 



Antoine Barton.— Yellow, spotted crimson, dwarf. 

 Baron de Hirsch.— Yellow, spotted crimson, dwarf. 

 *Cheshunt Yellow. — Pure yellow, dwarf. 

 Comte de Bouchard.— Yellow, spotted red, medium. 

 *Doyen J. Sisley.— Clear magenta, purplish leaves. 

 *Egandale. — Bich crimson, dwarf. 

 Eugene Mezard.— Scarlet, purplish leaves. 



Felix Crousse. — Scarlet, yellow, and crimson, 

 dwarf. 



Geoffrey St. Hilaire. — Rich scarlet, medium. 

 *Iridiflora Ehmanni. — Brilliant crimson, tall. 

 *Italia. — Scarlet, streaked yellow, glaucous leaves, tall. 

 *Jtjles Chretien. — Rosy red, medium. 

 *Kaiser William. — Bed and yellow, medium. 

 Konigin Charlotte. — Bed, margined yellow, dwarf. 

 Legionaires. — Bright scarlet, purple leaves, tall. 

 *Madame Crozy. — Scarlet and yellow, dwarf. 



