135 
becomes necessary to place them in an open situation in the 
garden, and to water regularly : nothing is more injurious than 
drought, although but for an hour. Towards the end of Sep- 
tember they may be placed under cover, observing to give all 
the air possible: liquid manure will now be of much service, 
and henceforth, all suckers must be trimmed away, until the 
dowering is past ; this indeed must be practised through the 
whole course of culture. For compost we use rather more than 
one-half of sound loam, the other half being composed of leaf- 
mould and rotten manure; adding a little sand and charcoal 
siftings. 
313 Lobelias. It must be borne in mind, that we are giving a 
mere epitome of the culture of the plants, enumerated at pages 
116 and 117. This must be an apology for not entering into 
those minute particulars, which, in general, garnish the details 
of culture, as expounded by those, whose whole life is spent in 
examining the exact dimensions of a Dahlia, or the orthodoxy 
of a notion, as to the correctness of outline in a Pansy blossom. 
These papers are intended to point to a few simple princi- 
ples; not merely the highest point of culture in a specimen or 
two, but by which those, who taking a close interest in gar- 
dening, through leisure and taste, may conduct or dictate the 
necessary operations. We therefore feel it a duty to point to 
a few features in culture which, whatever may be added, must 
not be forgotten. 
The subject of our present remarks, however, is familiar to 
most persons ; and before proceeding farther, it may be well to 
state, that these observations are not intended to apply to the 
annual Lobelias, or to the trailing perennial kinds of the green- 
house. It is to those glowing scarlet and crimson kinds (of 
which the old Lobelia fulgens may be considered the type), 
that we would direct attention. These, it is well known, die 
down, as gardeners term it, every autumn, and long before the 
decay of the annual shoot, nature has provided a numerous 
progeny in the character of underground suckers, from which 
the plants for the future year must be selected. The best plan 
is to take them up in masses, without disturbing the roots, and 
to sink them into roomy pots or boxes. This must be accom- 
plished in the early part of November, and no water should be 
given: they merely require some mellow soil, almost dry, packed 
308. AUCTARIUM. 
