THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
283 
plants should lie laid upon a clean mat, in sucli a position as 
to allow of well washing the under side of the foliage without satur- 
ating the soil, and repeat this every other day until this pest is fairly 
overcome. It is advisable to use tepid water, and also to repeat the 
washing occasionally, although there may not be any evident 
necessity for doing so ; for in this matter, more especially than in 
any other, a preventive is certainly better than a cure. As soon as 
the weather becomes sufficiently mild to allow of managing the 
plants in a cold frame without exposing them to a lower temperature, 
move them there, which will be a more congenial situation for them 
than a house where the temperature is kept up by artificial heat. 
The treatment here during the summer season will consist in giving 
free admission to air, a slight shade on the forenoons of bright days, 
and a proper supply of water to the soil, with a liberal use of the 
syringe. Some attention will, however, be required to accommodate 
the plants properly should cold parching winds occur immediately 
after they are placed in the frame. In this case, raise the light on 
the sheltered side, keep down the temperature by shading, and if 
necessary, shut up close at night, covering the glass with a double 
mat. During fine, warm weather, the lights may be left off at night, 
and the plants will be greatly improved by exposure to the night 
dews. Vigorous-growing examples will probably require a second 
shift early in the summer, and this should be attended to whenever 
it is necessary. A comparatively liberal shift may be given this 
time ; but in this be guided by circumstances. Beyond a stake for 
the support of the leading shoot, and pinching out the points of any 
branches which may take a decided lead, hardly anything will be 
necessary in the way of training. Discontinue shading and syringing 
overhead as soon as the beat of summer is over, and let your aim, 
after this, be to ripen the wood and prepare the specimens for 
winter. When cold, damp weather sets in, remove them to their 
winter quarters, which should be a light airy situation near the 
glass in the greenhouse, and water cautiously while the plants are 
in a dormant state. 
If large specimens are desired at once, it will be necessary 
to grow the plants a second season before allowing them to flower ; 
and in this case they may be treated the second year just as recom- 
mended for the first, except that it will be necessary to cut back 
the shoots, so as to maintain a dwarf, compact habit. Specimens 
intended for flowering should be allowed to remain in the green- 
house, where they will bloom from the middle of April to the end of 
June, and the blossoms will remain longer in perfection if the plants 
are screened from the mid-day sun. After blooming, cut the shoots 
back sufficiently to ensure a compact plant, and as soon as growth 
commences give a moderate shift, removing them to the plant- 
ground as soon afterwards as the roots may appear to have laid 
hold of the fresh soil. 
All the varieties seed freely, and cuttings of the half-ripe wood 
root with little difficulty ; but, nevertheless, those who can obtain well- 
managed Bossia;s from the nursery will save nothing by attempting 
the propagation of these plants. For soil, take good turfy peat and 
September. 
