20 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 
or potted into small pots. Shade from bright sun for a 
few days, and maintain a moist atmosphere. 
When rooted, those in the bench should he potted 
up, and when the roots of such as are in pots have 
reached the sides, pot onto the next size pot. 
Grow on as near the light as possible and gradually 
harden oft*. 
MISCEIXANEOUS. 
Fuchsias that have been resting may be pruned and 
started into growth. Autumn sown cinerarias need 
potting as soon as their roots reach the sides of the 
pots. Bedding geraniums that have been wintered 
over in flats should be potted off before the end of the 
month. Canna roots will require to be cleaned off and 
divided ready for starting into growth. 
Cyclamen seedlings sown last fall are now ready to 
prick off. Give them a position near the glass where a 
maximum of light is available so that thev will de- 
velop into sturdy plants. 
THE ICELAND POPPY 
HPHERE are few more beautiful hardy flowers than 
those of the Iceland Poppy, Papaver nudicaule, and 
it would be difficult to find any that are more highly ap- 
preciated for indoor decorations when cut. Unfortu- 
nately, thev are not grown nearlv so extensivelv as their 
A COLONY OF ICELAND POPPIES. 
charm and usefulness would justify, a fact that is no 
doubt due to the troublesome habit the plants have of 
dying off during the Winter. As the plant is a native of 
the Arctic Circle, this mortality cannot be due to cold, 
but is undoubtedly brought about by the excessive moist- 
ure that characterizes our Winters. 
To get over this difficulty many gardeners, and espe- 
cially those who have wet, poorly drained soil to deal 
with, treat these Poppies as annuals, and for that purpose 
sow seed in boxes or pans of sandy soil in gentle heat 
early in February, subsequently pricking out and harden- 
ing off the seedlings so that they are ready for planting 
out early in May. Plants raised in this way commence 
to flower in July and continue to do so until well into the 
Autumn. Another method, and one that answers well 
in many gardens, is to sow the seed outside, where the 
plants are to flower, about the second week in April, tak- 
ing care to thin the seedlings early so that they stand 
about nine inches apart each way. Naturally, these are 
later coming into flower than those raised under glass in 
February, but if the following Winter is at all favorable 
they will stand a much better chance of surviving than 
the earlier-sown ones. 
Where the soil is of a sandy nature and, consequently, 
well drained, there is no doubt that the best results are 
obtained by sowing the seed outside, preferably where 
the plants can be allowed to flower, early in July. The 
resultant seedlings will not flower the same year, but dur- 
ing the May following, and thence onwards' well into the 
Summer, they will give such a profusion of blossom as 
to repay the cultivator for the trouble entailed. Even in 
gardens where the soil is none too favorable a few should 
be tried in this way, the making up of a bed of sandy soil 
going far towards enabling the pans to withstand the 
Winter. 
Those who have natural rocks abounding in the gar- 
den, or even old retaining walls where a fair amount of 
soil is available, can scarcely find more suitable flowers 
for growing there than the Iceland Poppies. These Pop- 
pies can now be obtained in a number of beautiful shades, 
ranging from pure white, through yellow to deep cin- 
namon red. — The Garden (English). 
T 
POINTS ON ACACIA CULTURE 
HE growing of Acacias for conservatory and house 
decoration is not practised nowadays so frequently 
as it used to be years ago; but there is much to recom- 
mend the use of these handsome plants, especially dur- 
ing the winter and early spring, when it is often diffi- 
cult to provide variety in suitable decorative plants. 
In some quarters there exists a totally mistaken idea 
that Acacias are difficult to cultivate or that they re- 
quire a lofty house. In such a large genus, numbering 
altogether some 500 or more stove and greenhouse 
species, there is tin difficulty in finding plants that can 
be grown and flowered in small pots, and others that 
can be utilized for clothing pillars or roofs in large, 
lofty conservatories. 
The cultivation of greenhouse Acacias is simple and 
easy if it is always borne in mind that they are native^ 
of Australia and Xew Zealand, and do not require any- 
thing approaching stove-treatment ; in fact, the cooler 
they are kept without being exposed to frost the better. 
When grown in pots they should be plunged in ashes 
out-of-doors in May as soon as all danger of frost is 
past, and should be supplied with plenty of water while 
they are growing. Occasional waterings with weak 
liquid manure are beneficial. The plants should he 
housed in October and afforded plenty of air on all 
favorable occasions. The work of pruning should be 
done as soon as the plants have flowered, and the new 
growth encouraged to develop as much as possible, 
the next season's flowers depending on the vigor and 
health of the young, ripened wood. 
Acacias are not exacting as to soil, provided it is 
well drained and porous ; a mixture of equal parts of 
turfy loam, peat and leaf-mould, with plenty of sharp 
sand added, forms a suitable compost. — Gardeners' 
Chronicle (English). 
