106 
THE FLORIST. 
these classes bloom early, and are most difficult to handle when 
forward in flower, from their glutinous properties. I carefully 
nip off with my finger and thumb all the dead foliage which I 
can get at, using a short stick, pointed at one end and flattened 
at the other, for cleaning those parts I cannot otherwise reach. 
I then cut away the dead and superfluous living wood, remove 
the litter, and pluck up any wild heath or other weeds that may 
have come up in the peat; the plant and surface of the ball being 
thus perfectly cleansed, I proceed to substitute new sticks for 
any that may he rotten or too short, taking care to use as few as 
possible (for they are any thing but ornamental); I next tie out 
the branches as wide as the growth will admit, leaving sufficient 
room for the whorls of flower to expand without coming in con¬ 
tact with each other, and no more. Should any mildew appear, 
I take a pinch of sulphur vivum, and scatter it on the affected 
part, and place the plants on the table or rack, according to their 
height, at a sufficient distance to prevent contact; for nothing 
generates mildew, that pest to all Erica growers, so quickly as the 
chafing of one branch against another. Should the weather be 
bright, with drying winds, an increased supply of water will be 
necessary. The house need not be shaded in ordinary seasons 
throughout this month, but abundance of air should be given 
during the day, shutting out, of course, frost, or cold, driving 
wind and rain. The foregoing statement applies only to the 
treatment of healthy plants ; any that are sickly must be nourished 
and nursed in the following manner:—Turn out the plant, and 
examine the ball; you will most likely find one of the three fol¬ 
lowing causes of disease existing; saturation, droughty or innutri¬ 
tions peat used at the previous potting; in either case you will 
find no difficulty in separating it from the inner ball; should, 
however, any healthy roots appear here and there (which is not 
very likely), do not destroy them; remove also the moss placed 
above the drainage, and as much of the soil as will readily come 
away. Prepare a pot with plenty of crocks, just large enough to 
insert a finger between the reduced ball and side of the pot (for 
the slighter the shift the better), then proceed in the ordinary 
manner, using light fibrous peat, broken up tolerably fine with 
the hand (not sifted), and well-washed sharp white sand in about 
equal proportions; pot lighter than usual, water well, and shade 
for a few days, but do not exclude air. Should the plant recover 
under this treatment (and I know no better), it will require ano¬ 
ther similar shift in July. I may here observe, that I do not ap¬ 
prove of the practice sometimes adopted in such a case of pinch¬ 
ing off the flower-buds; it may occasionally answer the required 
purpose, but in many instances I have known it prove fatal. I 
may probably have a few words to say about the general summer 
shift in a future paper. W. H. Story. 
Newton Abbot, Devon. 
Fuchsia seed should have been sown in February (in heat), the 
