THE GLOXINIA. 
75 
keeping a lively moist heat in the frame, their progress will be 
rapid and satisfactory. When the flowers begin to open, a drier 
and cooler air will be necessary, and then the plants may be re¬ 
moved to the sitting-room, placing them near to the light in a 
position that will secure them from draughts of cold air, the 
chilling effects of which may cramp the blossoms or injure the 
leaves. Their peculiar fitness for this position is evident, and, 
after an introduction, must secure them a preference wherever 
flowers are admired. The rich texture of the foliage is quite 
unsurpassed, nor will the flowers suffer by any just comparison. 
The entire plant is dwarf, compact, and pleasing in its general 
appearance, and free from the serious objection urged against 
others remarkable for strong perfume. In short, was a concen¬ 
tration of everything magnificently rich and striking among 
flowers desired, we could scarcely imagine a more suitable form 
than that possessed by the Gloxinia, and its beauty may be en¬ 
joyed at such a trifling cost of trouble; for, with only three 
months’ attention to its growth in the manner described, fine 
plants will be obtained that will continue flowering through the 
remainder of the season, and then in winter they require no fur¬ 
ther attention than to be put away in some place perfectly dry 
and secure from frost. This latter character makes them par¬ 
ticularly valuable to the amateur grower, as he incurs no risk at 
all with them. To prepare them for this hybernation, it is only 
necessary to stand them in the sun for a week or two, when their 
beauty declines, and by degrees to withhold the supply of water, 
the effect of which will be to mature the underground parts of 
the bulb, when the stem and leaves will wither and die; the 
pot may then be stowed away till the succeeding season. 
As occupants of the stove in the more extended establishment, 
their presence is indispensable, and, by a little management in the 
starting of the bulbs, flowering plants may be had for a very long 
period. The earliest should be potted and introduced to heat 
about mid-winter, to be followed in successive intervals of three 
weeks or a month by others, till the opposite season of the 
year. 
It is a matter worthy of remark, that these roots seldom keep 
long in winter, when taken out of the soil in which they have 
been growing, and it is therefore advisable merely to dry the 
