166 
ON THE CULTURE OF NEW AND RARE PLANTS. 
No sooner is this system adopted, and the plants commence growing, than tlie 
bulbs swell and enlarge in a truly astonishing manner, and by the time their 
growth is completed, they have attained to a very large size. Of course, during 
the season in which this experiment is being tried, the plants do not flower so 
abundantly, nor do they maintain a healthy appearance, which is doubtless caused 
by the bulbs being so much exposed to solar light, and this deficiency of luxuriance 
may in part account for the concentration of a greater quantity of nutriment in the 
bulb, and consequently for its great increase in size. But this unhealthy appear- 
ance of the plants, being only of one year's duration, is unworthy of any consider- 
ation ; and although the result of the experiment with regard to a future year is 
not at present ascertained, there can be little question that the bulbs, by being so 
much stronger, and containing so much more nutriment, will produce finer and 
better flowers in the following seasons. This method is doubtless equally useful 
with T. hrachyceras^ and others of slender habits ; and with young and small 
bulbs it is unquestionably of great utility ; we therefore recommend it with confi- 
dence to our readers, feeling assured that, by practising it for one or more years, 
these plants may be greatly improved. 
Another system of growing the species of TropcEolum to greater perfection has 
likewise recently fallen beneath our notice in our metropolitan tours. These 
plants, it is well known, do not require to be planted in very large pots, as their 
roots are neither very numerous, nor do they extend themselves to a great distance 
from the bulb ; still, if they are not placed in pots of a large size, or at least in 
larger pots than from their size they absolutely require, the heat of the sun pene- 
trates the pots to such a degree, as to cause the leaves to assume a yellow and 
sickly hue ; and in such cases the plants are not only deprived of the beauty of 
their foliage, and rendered unsightly in this respect, but they never produce their 
flowers in perfection. This is particularly the case with young or newly-imported 
bulbs of Tropwolmn ; and to obviate it, many cultivators have recourse to the 
contrary extreme of placing them in much larger pots than are necessary, by which 
means, besides the waste of soil, the plants frequently become saturated with 
water, and the soil is rendered what is usually termed " sour," the consequence of 
which is, that the plants are equally as much injured as those which suffer from 
drought, and in many cases much more so. A rather novel method has therefore 
been suggested, which has been found fully efficient for maintaining the desired 
medium. It is, to place the pots containing the plants in others of a larger size, 
filling up the space between the two with river-sand, which is kept constantly 
watered, and imparts a coolness and moisture to the soil in which the plant is 
growing, which renders the application of water to its surface almost unnecessary. 
The only objection to this system is, that it employs two pots instead of one ; 
but where pots can conveniently be spared for this purpose, the practice will 
doubtless be found of great utility, and deserves to be generally adopted. We saw 
this plan in operation in the nursery of Messrs. Low and Co., Clajjtoii, from 
whence we collected the above hints, which, it is hoped, will prove serviceable to 
our readers in cultivating the various species of this very ornamental genus. 
