40 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ February, 
thereon the surface will be level with, or rather above, the rim of the pot; put 
in soil around the sides of the ball, and placing both thumbs on the surface of 
the ball, lift the pot, and give it some smart blows on the bench ; this and the 
pressure of the thumbs will consolidate the soil, and leave room for water at the 
surface. Let the plants be then returned to the frame, and gently watered, but 
not drenched. They should have the glass drawn over them at night, and in bad 
weather, but free exposure should be permitted in fine weather during the day. 
From early in June they should have free exposure day and night. 
From the end of May until the end of the first weelc in Juhj^ the plants will 
require almost daily attention to pinching-back the strongest shoots as they start 
into free growth. As a rule, it will be safe to let them grow about three inches, 
and then take one inch off the top. After the first week in July, pinching-back 
must cease altogether, otherwise there will be no bloom. 
Early in June the plants should be sufficiently rooted to be ready for a shift 
into 6-in. pots, previous to which a level piece of ground should be selected in a 
sheltered situation, but open to the sun, and covered with a good layer of finely- 
sifted coal-ashes, pressed down with the foot, and raked level. Having performed 
the operation of shifting, as before recommended, place the pots quite level, 
about 6 in. apart, on the coal ashes. Daily attention to watering will now be 
the principal care, and this should never be neglected, because the tendency of 
dryness at the root is to harden the lower part of the stem, and cause all the 
lower leaves to fall off. Should mildew appear on the leaves, as is often the 
case in moist seasons, it may be kept down by timely dustings with sulphur. In 
a month’s time, or say after the final stopping in the first week of July, the 
plants should be ready for the final shift into 8-in. pots, in which they must be 
left to bloom.— John Cox, Redleaf. 
PANSIES FOE SEEING BEDDING. 
F all the members of the British Flora, there is not one that has been 
improved upon to a greater extent, nor one that is more prone to improve 
yet further, than the Pansy —Viola tricolor. The Pansy contains all the 
^ necessary qualifications to render it emphatically a useful plant. It is 
hardy, and will succeed in almost every situation ; it is free in growth, and easily 
obtained and propagated; and it produces its fiowers in innumerable quantities at 
a season of the year when they are most appreciated. This fiower therefore 
should occupy a prominent position in every garden, more especially where spring 
bedding is carried on. 
The Pansy, too, is exceedingly valuable, on account of its great diversity of 
colours, almost all of which are duly represented by some of its members. It is 
true there are no reds or crimsons yet; but the time may soon come when every 
shade of colour required for extensive spring bedding will be found in this charm¬ 
ing flower. At present we are only compelled to call in other families to fill up 
