328 
THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 
stances not later than the beginning of March ; and as soon as 
growth commences shake the soil from the roots, and shift into pots 
just sufficiently large to admit the roots; a temperature of about 
60° at night, allowing it to rise some 10° with sunshine and air, 
will be suitable ; and they should be kept near the glass, and air 
admitted on favourable occasions, in order to induce stocky growth. 
Water the soil cautiously until the roots become active, but moisten 
the plants overhead, morning and eveniug, with the syringe, to 
keep the foliage clean, etc. This plant is very subject to the attacks 
of aphides, and therefore these pests should never be allowed to 
establish themselves ; they should be destroyed at once, either by 
means of tobacco-smoke or by syringing with tobacco-water, and 
this should be repeated as often as may be necessary during the 
growing season, taking care to have the foliage clean when the 
plants commence flowering, as tobacco-smoke applied there would 
be apt to cause the blossoms to fall prematurely. As soon as the 
pots get moderately well filled with roots, shift into others, and now 
is the proper time to place several plants in a large pot to form the 
foundation of large handsome bushes. About five plants placed in 
a 10-inch pot will be found to make large specimens with com- 
paratively little trouble, whereas to form a good-sized specimen out 
of a single plant requires a long season’s growth and very frequent 
stopping. During the warm summer months, they may be placed 
in a close pit or frame, where they will succeed very well without 
artificial heat. Keep them near the glass, and stop the shoots fre- 
quently, keeping them well-tied out to secure strong dwarf growth, 
and shift into pots a size larger than before, as the roots may 
require space. Towards the middle of September they should be 
returned to a house or pit where they can receive a little artificial 
heat to ripen their wood, and induce a plentiful display of bloom, 
and this will be promoted by keeping them rather short of water 
for a fortnight or so. It is also necessary to have respect to the 
season at which the plants are wished to bloom, and to stop accord- 
ingly, and it is hardly safe to practise stopping later in the season 
than the beginning or middle of August. When in flower the tem- 
perature should range at 45° at night, but it may be allowed to rise 
a few degrees with sun heat, and the atmosphere should be kept 
dry, otherwise the flowers are apt to decay sooner thau they should 
do. After the beauty of the plants is over, they may be kept 
rather dry at the root, and placed in a cool situation, in order to 
afford them a season of rest, after which they should be cut back, 
shaken out of the soil, repotted, and treated as recommended for 
last season. Fresh plants, however, will be found to make hand- 
somer specimens than those that have been frequently cut back, 
therefore all who have young stock may throw away the old plants 
as soon as they have done blooming. The most suitable sod tor 
this plant is good, strong, rich, turfy loam, to which may be added 
a portion of well-decayed cow-dung, say one-sixth of the whole, 
about a like quantity of fibry peat or leaf soil, and a sufficient 
admixture of sharp clean sand to ensure a free percolation ot water 
through the mass. In the case of large plants, which may be r ither 
stinted for pot room, manure water may be given two or three 
times a week with advantage. 
