THE AURICULA. 
261 
dressing ; but in the absence of poultry-dung, 
you may use two-thirds cow-dung, and one- 
third sand. This must be put on the top, to 
fill the pot to the rim ; but previous to putting 
it on, the dead and decaying leaves must be 
carefully removed by pressing them, or rather 
tearing them downwards, bearing at the same 
time a little sideways. When they are all filled 
up as proposed, they are to be returned to 
their frames, and have the benefit of shading 
for a day or two, and a gentle, but neverthe- 
less, proper watering. The foliage as well 
as the soil should be watered, so that a fine 
rose and a light hand should imitate a gentle 
shower of rain ; and if there happen to be a 
mild shower, they may have the benefit of it, 
for it is not to be presumed that any watering 
is so good as they would receive from two or 
three hours' gentle rain ; for this reason, we 
should not be in a hurry to water after top- 
dressing, until it began to get rather dry, for 
if it were to get very dry, the water would 
hardly soak in. The plants will begin to grow 
fast towards the end of the month, if the 
weather be at all genial, and will require ad- 
ditional care to keep from frost, by timely 
and efficient covering. The seedlings in pans 
will be greatly helped by stirring the earth 
between them. All seedlings coming forward 
enough to bloom even in their small pots, 
should be top-dressed, as well as the regular 
blooming plants, for they want the stimulus 
which the removal of the spent earth and the 
substitution of good rich compost never fails 
to give, and they will be greatly assisted by 
the operation ; nor will any of the pots of off- 
sets be the worse for similar treatment, as 
the earth will be generally found a good 
deal sunk or settled down in the pot, and 
sometimes the surface foul, or mossed over. 
Stirring a little, and throwing out the top, 
and substituting fresh rich compost, will give 
an extra strength to the growth, and be of use 
in forming good plants for a future time. 
March. — The plants are now growing fast, 
and before the end of the month many trusses 
will be showing. Of course, any that are not 
already top-dressed, must be set to rights, with- 
out delay, as directed last month. Care must 
be taken now, that the hearts of the plants do 
not fill with dust or water after the pips show, 
for dust would stain the flowers, and wet, for 
any continuance, would injure the mealy pow- 
der which forms so conspicuous a portion of 
the surface of the bloom. In watering, there- 
fore, the greatest care must be taken to avoid 
wetting the foliage, or washing the dirt up 
into the plant, until the truss rises up, when 
there is not so much danger, for a gentle rain 
will not hurt the pips, nor the ordinary water- 
ing of a very fine rose ; but when it is con- 
sidered that the powder which characterises 
the flowers and leaves of this plant is easily 
displaced, it must be obvious, that while the 
truss is down in the heart, wet and dirt must 
be fatal to wdiat might otherwise be a good 
bloom. If there be any plants on which you 
are depending for a strong flower, and the off- 
sets are not an object, remove, at once, any 
that may be growing out of the stem, by 
cutting them away with a sharp knife, before 
they have become large enough to rob the 
parent plants of any part of their nourishment, 
because, if an off-set takes to healthy growth, 
it seriously affects the bloom any time before 
it is matured. If, on the other hand, you are 
depending on increase, and can spare the 
bloom, pick off all the pips, and earth up the 
off-sets, which will cause them to grow more 
rapidly, and strike down roots. Seedlings 
will, in some instances, be blooming even this 
month. As soon as you can ascertain that 
they are not better than we have, get rid of 
them, either by throwing or giving them 
away, or selling them, for as the only object 
of raising seedlings is to get better than we 
have, or something as good, and different from 
what we have, all that do not answer that 
description are totally worthless to the grow- 
ers of collections. Seed may be sown this 
month in large pots, of similar earth to that 
in which they are grown. We prefer large 
pots to seed-pans, because the greater body of 
earth keeps more uniformly moist than the 
shallow pans will allow it to keep. This 
should be levelled an inch below the top, and 
the remainder should be sifted through a fine 
sieve. The pot should be gently bumped on 
the table, to settle the earth down a little, and 
then levelled with a strike, so as to be even 
with the top edge of the pot ; on this, sprinkle 
the seed thinly, and sift only just enough fine 
stuff over it to cover it properly. This must 
be placed in the frame along with the plants, 
and before the earth is dry at the top, let it 
be watered with a fine rose, so fine as that 
the wet may fall like dew, tor it is absolutely 
necessary that there be not a grain of earth or 
seed disturbed. It is the best way to use one 
of the patent syringes, with the finest rose 
that is made, and to throw the water up, that it 
may descend without any force whatever, and 
in so light a shower, that it can disturb nothing. 
It must be watered enough to wet the whole 
body of earth, for frequent waterings are not 
desirable ; this will sink the whole body below 
the edge of the pot, and a flat glass may be 
placed on it, when you arc giving the plants 
air, but it must not receive the whole heat of 
the sun. 
Ai'kil. — The trusses of the rising blooms 
must now be attended to. Those which are 
to be nursed for their blooms, must, as soon 
as they begin to open, be placed apart from 
