140 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
potting, pruning, etc., as may be expedient, they will continue to 
increase the size and beauty for many years. 
Cuttings of this plant root freely, if young half ripened shoots are 
taken off for the purpose during summer. They should be inserted 
in silver sand in a well-drained pot, covered with a bell-glass, and 
placed in heat. They will root in live or six weeks, and if potted 
then into four-inch pots, they will make nice plants for the ensuing 
spring. The soil I find best adapted for it is two-thirds fibrous peat 
and one-third good turfy loam, with a liberal addition of silver sand ; 
the two former should be broken into small lumps, but not sifted, 
except for young plants. In potting large specimens, it is advisable 
to add a liberal supply of potsherds to the soil, or wood charcoal, 
broken to the size of a small nut. This will assist in preserving the 
ball in a healthy, open condition. 
If those pests, mealy bug or brown scale make their appearance, 
lose no time in clearing them off. With early and careful attention, 
the habit of the plant affords small chance of safe retreat for these 
unwelcome visitors. 
THE POLYANTHUS. 
MONGr the whole range of florist’s flowers, not one is of 
more easy cultivation than the Polyanthus ; and yet I 
know that I rightly tell the experience of the majority 
of florists when I say, that with no flower have they 
generally been less successful. The great fault lies in the 
fruitless attempt to grow it iu pots. It is not difficult to account 
for its impatience of pot culture, which is, perhaps, referable to 
several causes. Thus, when so circumstanced, it is subjected to a lack 
of that degree of moisture so acceptable to it ; which may arise from 
inattention to watering, lightness of soil, or drying of the pots. It 
may in part depend on the cramping of its roots ; for the Poly- 
anthus grown in the open border is most prolific of long, thick, 
fleshy, fibrous roots. But chiefly, I conceive, it is dependent on the 
confinement within the cold frame, which no attention to airing can 
obviate, inducing a paleness and softness in the leaves and flower- 
stem, strongly contrasting with the firm, crisp, yet succulent and 
luxuriant green foliage of those which are grown in the open bed. 
The only sure guidance iu the artificial cultivation of a plant is the 
observance of its natural condition and habitat. And where grows 
the primrose in its wild luxuriance but in the shaded lane or wood- 
land ? And though it is sometimes seen to adorn, in the spring, 
the sunny bank of a hedgerow, yet, ere the summer's sun can visit 
it, even there it will be found that Flora has kindly sheltered her 
favourite amid the shadowing growth of others of her train. The 
Polyanthus, then, should always be grown in a cool bed, or open 
border, which has an eastern aspect, or which is otherwise wholly 
shaded from the summer’s sun, for it is most impatient of heat and 
drought, and, it may be added, of confinement and smoke also ; and 
