THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
237 
will, however, be necessary to afford them a close, rather warm 
situation, to induce the roots to start after being cut back. Turfy 
loam and peat broken into small pieces, and liberally intermixed 
with sharp silver sand and lumpy bits of charcoal, form a suitable 
compost. Cuttings from short-jointed pieces of the young wood root 
freely ; they should be selected as early in the season as is con- 
venient, planted in light, sandy, peaty soil, covered with a glass, 
placed in a very mild bottom-heat, and guarded from damp. When 
sufficiently rooted to bear handling, they should be potted singly in 
small pots, and placed in a close, warm situation till established, 
when they should be inured to a cooler atmosphere, more light and 
airy, and be kept growing steadily until the approach of winter, 
when they may be placed iu a warm part of the greenhouse, and 
sparingly supplied with water at the root until they can be removed 
to a growing temperature in spring. 
THE BALSAM. 
3 Y A SUBSCRIBER. 
W plants are more generally cultivated or more useful 
for the decoration of the greenhouse during the season 
when its ordinary inmates are placed out of doors than 
the Balsam, but in the hands of amateurs it is seldom 
well-grown. It is a plant of exceedingly vigorous 
habit, and unless its energies are properly directed from the 
commencement it speedily assumes a lanky, naked appearance, which 
no after care can correct. Seed may be sown any time from the 
beginning of March to the middle of May, according to the season 
wffien the plants may be wanted to be in flower, and the convenience 
for treating them properly after they are up. Sow thinly in well- 
drained pots filled with light, sandy soil, covering the seeds lightly 
with the same material, and place them in a moist warm house or 
pit to vegetate. As soon as the plants appear, the pots should be 
placed close to the glass in the lightest part of the house, and air 
admitted on every favourable occasion ; for the aim from the first 
should be to induce stocky robust growth, and this cannot be 
effected without the aid of light and a\r. AVhen the first pair of 
leaves expand, pot singly, in four-inch pots retaining the plants in a 
moist gentle heat ; and, if necessary, afford them a slight shade for a 
few hours in the forenoon, and maintain a moist atmosphere, until 
they get established in their pots, which, with ordinary care, will 
soon be the case; afterwards, they must be freely exposed to light 
and sunshine, and be afforded a free circulation of air by day when- 
ever the weather will admit, shutting up early in the afternoon after 
syringing. Very little time will elapse before the pots will be 
filled with roots, which should not be allowed to become matted 
before shifting, otherwise it will be difficult to keep the soil proper! v 
August. 
