112 
THE CULTURE OF THE POLYANTHUS. 
provernents to be made ourselves, and there- 
fore say, by way of beginning, choose the 
following varieties, as many as you like of 
each, but take those with single hearts 
only : — Hitchin's Defiance, Clegg's Lord 
Crewe, Pearson's Alexander, Collins' Princess 
Royal, Buck's George IV., Clegg's Prince of 
Orange, Buckley's Captain Starkie, Sir Syd- 
ney Smith, Nicholson's King, Stead's Tele- 
graph, Lord John Russell, Eskerley's Black 
and Gold, Coxe's Prince Regent, Turner's 
Bonaparte, Craiggy's Timandra, or Highland 
Mary, Collin's Prince Regent, Nicholson's 
Bang Europe, Craiggy's Bertrand, Craiggy's 
Britannia. With good plants of these to begin 
with, we can compete with any flowers out, 
but they will require care. The plants must 
be reared in pots, for that is the only way to 
keep them for sale ; when we have them we 
can plant them out, or continue them as they 
are, whichever is necessary. If the pots are 
full of roots, prepare a bed of good compost in 
a shady situation, where only the morning sun 
shines on it ; let the compost be, if possible, 
that which comes from rotted turfs, mixed 
with about one-third cow or horse-dung, 
rotted fairly into mould. Mix this well toge- 
ther a good nine inches deep, and into this 
turn out the balls of earth whole, without dis- 
turbing any of the fibres. If however, the 
pots are not full of roots, but on the contrary 
there is plenty of room for them to grow, they 
had better remain in their pots. But, among 
other points to look to in choosing plants, that 
of seeing that they are well established in the 
pots is essential, and this can only be known 
by the firmness of the plant in the pot, or by 
turning out the ball to see the roots have 
reached the side. If they fairly show them- 
selves, however little, and they are in good 
sized pots, they may be considered esta- 
blished ; but if they are in small ones their 
roots may easily be made to reach the side by 
spreading them, but such plants will do no 
good. To be of any real service, they should 
bi^ autumn-shifted, and have grown consi- 
derably in their pots, and if they have filled 
them with roots so much the better. We 
must keep up the management both ways : 
supposing them to be intended for planting 
out, they should stand in the bed nine inches 
apart every way, and be planted as deep as 
they were in their pots ; indeed, the old sur- 
face of the ball of earth in the pot should be 
just covered with the new soil, so that both 
beds should be levelled and appear alike. As 
we suppose this to be the end of February, or 
some way into March, when the weather 
rapidly changes from mild to severe, it will be 
necessary to cover them with light litter of some 
kind, such as peas-haulm, or broken straw, 
for if laid on as it comes from the truss it 
would be too heavy and close ; this covering 
should be on at night if there be the slightest 
chance of a frost, and be taken off at day-light 
if the weather be mild. The Polyanthus is 
by no means a tender plant ; there is a very 
great doubt on the minds of some whether a 
covering is necessary at all, but our experi- 
ence tells us that it is easy to damage the in- 
cipient flower of the most hardy thing in 
nature ; and as these flowers may be wanted for 
seed, or even for exhibition, no chance should 
be thrown away. The open nature of peas- 
haulm, or straw, when it has been bent and 
broken, is such as to admit air and light, and 
yet to protect against a good deal of frost. In 
this way must the Polyanthus be seen right 
up to its bloom ; and as the truss rises, the 
protection must be the more certainly at- 
tended to ; but, besides this, the plant must be 
examined to see that there are no side shoots 
taking any prominent growth, for if there be 
any, they must be removed before they grow 
enough to draw any strength from the main 
truss, or from the heart of the plant before the 
truss appears. When the flowers are about to 
open, small hand-glasses may be used to pro- 
tect them ; and if the beds are necessarily 
where the sun can reach the plants in the 
heat of the day artificial shade must be used. 
11' the flowers are not wanted for show, save 
only the handsomest pip of each plant, and 
cut away the remainder ; and do not put the 
glass over it unless it be frosty or at dusk, 
nor cover nor shade it except when there is 
frost, for that is not favourable for seeding. 
As soon as a single handsome pip has set its 
seed, pinch or cut away any other buds and 
flower, to throw all the strength into the 
single pod ; and having saved a pod from the 
most perfect flower of each variety, or of such 
varieties as you think worth the trouble, you 
have only to attend properly to the plants you 
raise from them, and may fairly expect some 
novelty or excellence to reward you for the 
trouble. But we have now to take the case 
of the plants not being so well established as 
you like: in this case you must place tliem all 
under glass in their present pots, giving them 
moderate moisture, plenty of air, and throw- 
ing something over these frames at night to 
prevent a frost from checking them, which, as 
the only hope you have of blooming them 
depends on their winter growth, would be 
very serious. As soon as the roots have 
reached the sides of the pot, and begin to mat, 
they should be removed into some of a largei 
size ; but if they are already in thirty-two's 
they must be continued in the old ones, be- 
cause thirty-two sized pots are as large as 
they can be well shown in. They must be 
kept from flagging for want of water, but 
must not be kept wet. If any of the pots 
