210 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
upon a stage in a shady situation, removed into the house at the 
proper time, and undergo the same treatment the second winter as 
described for the first. When those plants which are intended for 
specimens begin to show their bloom, they receive additional atten- 
tion ; a little liquid manure is occasionally given, they are no longer 
syriuged over the top ; bee3 are kept out of the house by means of 
gauze blinds, and every precaution is taken to preserve their beauty ; 
they are never allowed to flag from exposure to the sun, or want of 
water. I recommend every grower to begin early to train his 
plants for specimens ; when the shoots are young and tractable, any 
direction may be given to the stems ; a uniform and handsome 
appearance will arise from the practice, and the plants will require 
fewer supports and less pulling about ; at the time they receive 
their final dressing the flowers should be so arranged as to present 
an equal distribution of bloom over the head of the plant, to eflect 
which the stems must be secured to small willow twigs. Practice 
alone can teach the art of dispersing flowers properly ; the less art 
is employed, the better, and the means should always be kept out of 
sight. 
The compost I use for my pelargoniums is the following : Two 
barrowfuls of good maiden loam with the turf, one ditto well-rotted 
cow-dung, three years old ; this requires to be frequently turned 
over in winter, to destroy the worms and insects ; one peck of silver 
sand, one ditto of bone-dust. For the winter repotting, a little 
more sand is added. 
KALOSANTHES COCCINEA. 
sHIS and other varieties of Kalosanthes as bedding plants 
cannot be excelled either in beauty or the facility with 
which their cuttings are struck and brought into a 
flowering state. The immense and singularly compact 
heads of bloom that can be obtained from each com- 
paratively small plant, in about nine months from the time the cut- 
tings are put in, combined with their charming colour, render them 
among the most attractive plants in the parterre. Any time about 
the end of September I take some strong healthy points of the 
growing shoots, and after forming them into cuttings 2| inches 
in length, cutting close to a joint, and stripping the leaves from the 
bottom for about three-fourths of an inch, I lay them on the 
potting bench to dry for twenty-four hours. This is necessary, as 
from the extreme succulence of the plants, they are apt to rot if put 
in at once. Shallow pans or boxes, four inches deep, and any con- 
venient length and width, are prepared for putting in two inches of 
drainage, then a little moss or sphagnum, and over that some 
lumpy peat or loam, an inch deep ; and then an inch of sandy loam, 
fine lime rubbish and sand, well mixed, and pressed closely down. 
The cuttings should be put in about an inch, or an inch and 
