THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
130 
SHOWY FLOWEES FOE THE CONSEEVATOEY. 
BY THOMAS TRUSSBER. 
the following remarks it is my intention to offer a few 
bints on the cultivation of the more showy plants adapted 
for conservatory decoration which may be raised from 
seed. By selecting the proper subjects, commencing 
early, and encouraging the plants to make a vigorous 
growth from the first, a very beautiful display of flowers may be 
had in the conservatory during the latter part of the summer and 
the whole of the autumn. To enable me to compress these notes 
into the smallest possible space, I will at once say, that all the sub- 
jects that will be mentioned can be most successfully grown in a 
mixture of turfy loam and leaf-mould, or decayed manure. The 
pots, it is necessary to add, must be clean and well drained ; and 
until the plants are put in the pots in which they are to flower, they 
must not become pot-bound ; for when they are kept too long in 
small pots they receive a considerable check, and many will com- 
mence to flower prematurely, and all the care possible afterwards 
will fail in producing good specimens. 
Amabanthhs. — The Willow-leaved Amaranth, A. salicifolius, is 
very attractive, and nseful for conservatory decoration. The main 
point, to secure specimens with richly-coloured leaves, is to raise 
the seed in a cucumber or other heated pit, and to keep the plants 
in the same structure until they are established in three-inch pots. 
After arriving at this stage, remove them to the greenhouse, and in 
about a fortnight shift into six-inch pots, which is the largest size 
they will require. They can then be placed in the open air, or 
allowed to remain in the greenhouse. In both cases they must be 
fully exposed to the sun. 
Aster. — The B^uarf Bouquet, Large-flowermg Dwarf PcBony, and 
Dwarf Chrysanthemum-flowered, are all exceedingly useful for the 
conservatory. To have them in perfection, sow the seed in pans, 
and prick them off, when about an inch in height, into three-inch 
pots, and shift into pots two sizes larger when they are established. 
They must be grown entirely in the open air after all danger 
from frost is past, and, to reduce the labour of watering them, 
plunge the pots in any loose material that may happen to be avail- 
able for that purpose. It is desirable to place them far enough 
apart to prevent overcrowding, and a supply of moderately strong 
liquid manure twice a week will be of considerable assistance after 
the plants are well established in the pots in w hich they are to flower. 
The plants must not be divided when they are repotted. Sometimes 
they will be attacked with green-fly, and when this happens, sprinkle 
them with water, and then dust tb.e foliage with tobacco-powder, 
which must be allowed to remain on twenty-four hours, and be then 
washed off with clear water. If left on too long, a danger exists of 
the foliage being more or less injured. 
Balsams. — Usually cultivators are advised to sow the seed in 
