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THE CULTURE OF THE GERANIUM. 
the flower in perfection ; but if so, the treat- 
ment will require to be something like pinks 
and pansies, shown only a season old, — that 
is to saj r , cuttings taken off, and grown up for 
single trusses, all others being taken away to 
throw the strength into the principal. We 
have remarked, that the plants grown by 
nurserymen, who do not regard size, and 
never wish to see large ones, always bloom 
finer than show flowers. Geraniums, like 
pinks and pansies, never bloom so well on old 
shoots, or plants, two years old, as on those 
of one ; yet, at present, there is no moving 
the present vulgar taste for monster plants, 
and trumpery but numerous flowers. The 
treatment of this plant, by those who grow them 
by thousands for market, is very simple, and 
may soon be commenced. The first step is, to 
PROPAGATE BY CUTTINGS. 
As soon as the Geranium plants are out of 
bloom — say the end of June — you may cut 
them all in, and what comes off may be 
formed into cuttings to strike. These should 
be about two or three inches long; cut up the 
bottom of the stem to the under part of a 
leaf, which is always a joint, and put these in 
the common ground, under a hand-glass, 
where, shaded from the hottest of the sun, 
and watered properly, they will quickly strike 
root. As soon as they begin to grow, give 
plenty of air, and leave the glasses off. 
POTTING THE CUTTINGS OFF. 
About the latter end of July, pot them off, 
one each, in forty-eight sized pots, putting 
low down in the pot, so that the lower leaves 
may be nearly down to the mould; and place 
them on hard ground, that worms will not 
come through, and water them, whenever the 
soil appears dry. The mode of doing this is 
as follows : — As soon as you can be sure they 
are rooted, under the hand-glass, this potting 
business should be done. Crocks should be 
placed on the bottom, with a bit of moss, or 
peat, on them, to prevent the mould from 
washing into them, and use a soil, composed 
of two-thirds loam, and one-third dung, well 
mixed together. In these pots they will begin 
to grow soon. 
STOPPING THE PLANTS. 
The entire art of making these plants 
bushy, so as to cover the pots, and be dwarf 
at the same time, consists in judiciously stop- 
ping the plants, which is no more nor less 
than pinching off the end, or, as it were, 
pinching the heart out ; but this should not 
be done until there are two-pair of leaves, 
besides the part to be pinched off. This stop- 
ping induces side shoots directly, and the pots 
have to be looked over occasionally to see that 
none of the side shoots grow too vigorously ; 
if any are found doing so, they must be 
pinched back, to keep the plant in form : 
watering in the dry weather, frequently re- 
moving the pots, to prevent the roots from 
getting through, or growing into the ground. 
In this way they are grown until September. 
HOUSING THE PLANTS. 
If the plants have made good bushy growth, 
and have filled the pots with roots, you may 
do as you please about shifting them into pots 
of thirty-two size. Most persons, who merely 
supply the market, want to get as many pots 
into a house as possible ; others, who have 
room, and want to make larger plants, shift 
all the handsome plants into thirty-two sized 
pots, giving them a good watering to settle 
the soil about the ball of earth, and then 
place them on the shelves in the Geranium - 
house, which should always be so constructed 
as to allow the plants to be pretty near the 
glass. This house should be kept from frost; 
but ought not to be heated a single degree 
more than is absolutely necessary for that 
purpose. The temperature should be as even 
as possible, and they should have air and 
light, as much as it is practicable to give them 
without danger. About once a week they 
will require examination, to see how they are 
affected for moisture. It is not desirable to 
keep them wet, but they must not be dis- 
tressed for water ; towards January and 
February, the temperature is necessarily raised 
a little ; but this ought to be reversed from 
the ordinary practice. In most nurseries you 
see all the fires are being lighted in the even- 
ing. Now, it has long been a settled point 
with gardeners, who know their business, 
that the temperature at night should be lower 
than by day. In most places, as we have 
shown, the case is opposite, the temperature 
is gradually raised from sunset by closing the 
houses, and lighting the fires. The proper 
way is, keep down the night temperature as 
much as possible, so that frost is but avoided. 
The plants now gradually advance to bloom, 
at the ends of all the shoots ; and, in propor- 
tion to the temperature at which the house is 
kept through the winter, so will the plants 
flower early or late. Generally, they will be 
all in flower in May or June, without much 
forcing. 
BLOOMING WITH ONE TRUSS. 
In this case the plant has to take its chance, 
except that, when first potted, it should be 
put as low in the pot as possible ; and, as it 
grows up, instead of removing the top shoot, 
let it grow. When it is time to take them 
into the house, pot them into thirty-two sized 
pots, lowering them down to the under leaves, 
