588 THE PLEASURE, OR [Dec. 
rate and equal degree of warmth both day and night, but must be 
occasionally opened, or the light raised up at the higher end, to 
admit fresh air, and to suffer the exhalations from the bed to pass 
away, which is a very essential point. 
The earth must always be kept moderately moist, both before 
and after the plants appear, but never wetj the best method of 
watering it is by means of a hard clothes-brush, dipped into soft 
water, which has had its chill taken off" by standing for some time 
in the sun or in the frame; the hair side being quickly turned 
upwards, and the hand rubbed briskly over it, will cause the water 
to fly off' in particles almost as fine as dew; a sufficient watering 
may in this manner be given in a few minutes. If it is found 
impossible to preserve a due heat in the first bed till the seed has 
all vegetated, it will be proper to prepare a second into which to 
remove the box; but if there are cucumber frames, &c. at work, the 
box may be removed into any of them that supports a good tempe- 
rate heat. 
At the expiration of four or five weeks, if well managed, the 
young plants will have all made their appearance; it then becomes 
necessary to give them, very gradually, more air, in order to harden 
and render them fit, in due time, for an entire exposure to it. In 
the month of March the plants, if forward, should be fully exposed 
to the open air for a few hours in the middle of mild days, when 
the sun is not too powerful, but particularly to light warm rains. 
As to their subsequent treatment, see the Flower Garden for ^pril 
and the months following. 
If you are apprehensive of the young seedlings being attacked 
by snails, &c., which they are very subject to, place a hair band 
round the box when you sow the seed, as directed in page 159. 
Polyanthus seed and seedlings are to be treated exactly in the 
same manner as those of Auricula. 
Cyclamen seeds of every kind may be sown in boxes during any 
of the autumn or winter months, even to the middle of February, 
but when kept out of ground much later, most of them will not 
vegetate till the spring following; they may be treated generally 
as directed in page 418, observing always to protect them from 
frost. The Cyclamen indicum being a hot-house plant, its seed 
must be treated accordingly: this species differs from the others in 
not having the divisions of the corolla or flower reflexed or turned 
back, but hanging down, and in the whole corolla being much larger 
than either of the Persian or European kinds. The former kinds 
will require no bottom heat, but should be carefully protected by a 
good frame and glasses, well covered at night and in severe weather, 
so as to prevent the earth in the inside from becoming frozen, but 
more particularly after the plants appear; the latter kind must be 
sown in a box, which is to be placed in a good hot-b6d, as directed 
for anemone seed, and constantly treated as a hot-house plant, 
or it may be plunged in the bark-bed of any forcing department 
and there taken proper care of. 
