THE GENUS IMPATIENS. 
495 
out two or three times, the whole forming large 
conical masses six, eight, or more feet in 
height, and as much in diameter at the base. 
Some of the species can hardly be grown less 
than this, to exhibit their peculiar ornamental 
appearance ; I. rosea is almost the only smaller 
kind, among the more ornamental of the spe- 
cies. In this class, I. glanduligera, I. Candida, 
I. longicornu, and I. rosea, are the most 
handsome. 
TREATMENT OF THE STOVE AQUATIC, AND 
PERENNIAL SPECIES. 
Impatiens natans is an aquatic species, 
strictly speaking. All the species naturally 
love humidity, and thrive when under its 
influence, but this actually requires to be 
grown in water, its tortuous branching stems 
floating on the surface. Being an annual 
species, it requires to be raised from seeds 
every spring ; the latter end of February or 
the beginning of March will be a suitable 
time. They may be sown in pots of light 
loamy soil, and the pots set into pans filled 
up with water, which should be frequently 
changed ; these pots may either be set in a 
hothouse, or in a hot-bed frame. "When the 
plants are an inch or two high, they should be 
planted singly into large pots filled with rich 
loamy soil ; and these pots should be set into 
a pan or cistern of water, deep enough to 
cover the pot a few inches, The depth of the 
pots should be regulated to the growth of the 
plants. When they are first set in, they must 
be adjusted so that the tops of the plants are 
above the surface ; and as they grow the pots 
may be lowered, so as ultimately to be a few 
inches beneath the surface : the stems will 
then float about on the surface, and assume 
their natural characters. It is proper to 
remark, that these pans or cisterns should be 
situated or placed in a warm and open part of 
the hot-house ; and further, the water should 
be moderately heated, that is, to about the 
same temperature as the air whenever fresh 
or additional supplies may be required by 
the plants. The frequent change of this 
water will not be necessary, but it should be 
changed sometimes, to keep the supply in a 
clean and sweet condition ; and it is on these 
occasions of change especially, that it is de- 
sirable to have recourse to the practice of 
warming that which is applied. From the 
impracticability of shifting them into larger 
pots, after they have made any advance in 
their growth in the water, it is a necessary 
point to plant them at once into pots of con- 
siderable size, large enough to enable them to 
maintain and complete their growth. Such as 
an 1 1-inch or 12-inch one will be large enough ; 
and they will then require to be set either 
into pans, large enough to aiford a surface of 
water sufficient for the branches ; or into 
cisterns, when they might occupy as much 
room as they require. 
The only remaining species for consideration 
is the I. scapiflora, a perennial stove species 
of dwarf habit, and producing tuberous roots. 
The leaves of this plant die away during the 
winter, and at this season the soil should be 
kept dry about them, and they should be set 
away in a cool, dry situation, till the spring. 
In the spring, they must be brought out, 
gradually supplied with water, and brought 
into a course of culture, by placing them in 
the influence of warmth. As soon as they 
show signs of growth, they should be repotted ; 
the pots in which they are grown need not 
be of large size — an 8-inch one for a strong plant 
will be sufficient, but they require to be well 
drained : the soil may be an equal mixture 
of turfy loam and turfy peat, principally in 
roughish lumps, and the tuber should be 
placed just below the surface of the soil. When 
they are in full growth they may be submitted 
to the full influence of heat, and moisture, and 
light, and then, with the ordinary routine ot 
treatment, they will grow to very great per- 
fection. The plants will require moderate 
supplies of water whenever the soil becomes 
dry ; but, although when in a free growing 
state they will absorb and appropriate a con- 
siderable proportion, the supplies must not 
be immoderate, or more than will keep the 
soil in a regularly moistened condition. This 
course of treatment may be continued until 
the time of flowering, when the plants may be 
removed to a warm green-house, where the 
flowers will last longer than if continued in 
the hot, moist atmosphere, which produced 
them. After flowering, the plants will have 
attained their mature growth, and then the pro- 
cess of ripening off must be commenced, by 
gradually lessening the applications of water 
at the roots, and keeping the plants in a some- 
what drier atmosphere. As they die off they 
may also be taken to a cooler temperature. 
When the decay of the leaves, and the matu- 
ration of the roots, are thus found to be 
completed, they may be stored away in a dry, 
cool place, free from frost, along with Achi- 
menes, Gesneras, and similar plants, until the 
return of spring, when they may be brought 
out and subjected to a similar course of treat- 
ment. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
The seeds of the annual species are pro- 
duced very plentifully; and a sufficient quantity 
should be preserved for the purpose of raising 
a supply of plants. The capsules should be 
gathered before they become quite ripe, as 
they will not, when in the latter case, bear 
touching without bursting, and, perhaps, scat- 
tering the seeds; and, in order to keep the kinds 
