226 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
plants and modern flower-gardening, that no person should think me so partial 
to it as to see no beauty in anything else. I would wish to see a garden like 
the one in which so many happy hours of my boyhood were spent, in every 
place of note in the kingdom. In them we would have something fresh to admire 
every day in the year. But I would not have them as accompaniments to an 
architectural building of any pretentions—here, though they would be totally 
out of place and character, they should occupy some sheltered spot at a con¬ 
venient distance from the mansion. The parterre with its vases, fountains, and 
statues is the proper accompaniment to an architectural building. 
I have, however, digressed from my subject, and must now return to it. 
Having in the July Number given some directions for the propagation of a 
young stock of bedding Geraniums, I now offer a few remarks on wintering the 
old plants; the season for lifting and potting them being at hand. However 
large the stock of young plants may be that we have, it is very desirable to 
save as many of the old plants as we can conveniently do, as they make a fine 
show immediately they are planted out in May. Those who have plenty of heated 
glass structures at command will have no difficulty in keeping as many plants 
as they desire. Those who possess only a cold pit or a frame may keep their 
plants by attending to a few simple matters. The cottager, even, who has 
neither pit nor frame, may keep a few plants to decorate his humble border 
with. 
The essential conditions necessaiy for success I will now briefly narrate. 
The first great point is to lift the plants before they get the least frozen. If 
the ends of the shoots are in the slightest degree injured by frost, it is useless 
attempting to keep them in a cold pit or frame, and they had as well be at once 
consigned to the rubbish heap to save further trouble. As the variegated 
kinds have a fine effect in the autumn when the flowers of the other plants are 
fast fading away, people are sometimes induced to leave them in the garden too 
late, when a sudden frost completely kills the whole. They should never be 
left in the open beds later than the middle of October, as much earlier as they 
can possibly be taken up the better it is, as they make fresh roots sooner than 
when lifted later in the season. Advantage should be taken of fine weather to 
lift the whole whilst dry. Where space is limited all the Scarlets should be 
put pretty close into boxes in a nice light turfy soil, which should be made 
pretty firm about the roots. Before being put into the boxes all the large 
leaves should be carefully picked off, and any straggling shoots there might 
happen to be should be cut carefully off. If the soil be in a proper state when 
the plants are put into the boxes, no water need be given for a few days,, as 
the plants will not flag if all the large leaves are picked off, and they will 
root sooner if the soil is not too moist. As many plants as it may be desirable 
to keep should be put into boxes in this manner, and the whole should then be 
placed in a cold pit or frame, and should be kept rather close until they begin 
to root into the fresh soil, when air should be given daily, and it should be in¬ 
creased as the plants get better rooted. The commoner kinds of Scarlets, if 
lifted when quite dry, and all the leaves picked off, and soil shaken off the 
roots, may be buried in very dry sand, charcoal dust, or any other dry substance, 
where they will be safe from frost, and will keep safely until spring, when the 
whole should be potted and put into a pit or frame, which should be kept 
rather close—or, what is better, into a vinery where there is a little heat, if 
such a thing is at command. 
Some of the stronger-growing kinds of the variegated Geraniums may be 
put into boxes like the Scarlets, but all the finer and more delicate sorts should 
be. potted separately into as small pots as they can be conveniently got into, 
using light turfy soil made firm about the roots. A few of the larger leaves 
