IPOMOPSIS ELEGANS. 
253 
June; this is a month or six weeks earlier than is generally 
recommended, but I was induced to try that period, some four 
years since, with a view to get the plants more firmly established 
before the winter, and found it to succeed admirably. I sow in 
shallow pans of sandy loam, and only cover the seed with a thin 
coat of sand; the pan is placed in a cold frame, and as soon as 
the young plants can be handled, they are lifted with the haft of 
a knife, and transferred to small pots, standing three together in 
a sixty. By continuing them in the frame scarce any check is 
visible, and, as soon as they seem to be perfectly recovered, air is 
admitted freely; while the plants are young, the watering must 
be very carefully done ; the soil being principally loam, a small 
quantity of water is generally sufficient, and that must pass 
through the pots quickly, or the neck of the plant will rot. Still, 
with the necessary attention to drainage in the potting, and some 
care in the subsequent supply of moisture, together with plenty 
of air through the summer, at least two thirds of the plants will 
be living in September, and those which have got thus far will 
mostly be vigorous, and the pots well filled with roots, which I 
hold to be the main desideratum towards their preservation. 
Through the remainder of the autumn they should receive the 
full influence of the sun, and but little water, the object being to 
induce an indurated condition, and ensure the thorough completion 
of the ripening process. In this state they may be transferred 
to the greenhouse as soon as the weather may render such a step 
desirable, with every prospect of a successful issue, and if a shelf, 
near the glass in a warm part of the house, where they will be 
completely clear of shade and drips, is selected for them, and the 
same care in the watering continued, the losses through the 
winter will probably not exceed another third. The usual ex¬ 
pectation is to save only one plant in each pot, and this is much 
more than usually happens; but by having the plants so early 
and thoroughly established before taking them to the greenhouse, 
I have succeeded in saving even more, and the amount of my 
surviving plants since adopting the method described has been 
nearly one half of those originally potted. The winter is, of 
course, the most trying period, and if a decaying plant is observed 
in any of the pots, it should be removed at once, before the 
infection spreads to its neighbour; sometimes mildew may be 
