THE FLORIST. 
59 
it is done the better. Many defer it until November, but we should 
prefer the last week of September to the first week of November, 
because if well established now many advantages will follow. Full 
directions for preparing the beds, planting, &c., have been given in 
our previous papers. Choose healthy, vigorous plants, and not too 
large. Place a number in small pots for wintering in cold frames ; 
of the less valuable kinds, six or eight in pots of a large size will 
winter well, and take less room. 
NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 
Is a quiet time wdth Pansies. Those in pots should not be exposed 
to heavy rain; and those who have a number of small glasses will 
do well to place them over their best plants during a very wet 
time. Tilt the glasses on one side with a small flower-pot to pre¬ 
vent the plants from drawing. (See practice for January to prepare 
for winter.) 
CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
We have been requested to state the best plans for keeping down 
insects. The greatest enemies to the Pansy are the wire worm arid 
grub. If we have not cleared our soil of the former previous to 
planting, w^e place pieces of potato or carrot under the surface, which 
should be examined two or three times a week, and all that have 
been attracted there destroyed. The latter are easily found when 
raking over the beds. 
Slugs and earwigs are the most destructive to the blooms. If 
the former are numerous it may arise from slovenly gardening;* 
weeds, and all kinds of rubbish, should not be allowed to accu¬ 
mulate. The surface of the soil cannot be moved by raking or 
hoeing too often, for more reasons than keeping insects under. 
Earwigs should be trapped on the plan adopted by Dahlia growers. 
We have also been called upon to state what we consider the 
best number of blooms to exhibit. This must depend on the time of 
the year, and on this subject taste wall vary—not that we hesitate to 
state our opinion. In the height of the Pansy season, say any time 
in May, we recommend 24 for amateurs in 4 sixes, and 36 for nur¬ 
serymen in 4 nines. So much can be said about stands for shewing 
them on, that it must form a separate article, with plans and dimen¬ 
sions, as uniformity ought to be enforced by the different societies. 
We recommend that it be made a rule that any stand containing 
a flow'er with two decided shades of ground-colour should be dis¬ 
qualified. A Carnation with a run petal would be fatal to the best 
stand ever put up, although this is a plant that produces but two to 
three blooms annually at the outside; whereas the Pansy has its 
hundreds, and should be subject to rules as stringent. 
* Though we are aware that in some situations they seem indestructible. It 
is a good plan to sow lime, slacked to a very fine powder, on the adjoining ground 
very early on a mild, damp morning. Those on the beds may be trapped with 
cabbage or lettuce leaves, which should be spread at night and examined the 
next day. 
