1870. ] 
TRUE lovers’ knots. 
175 
blooming is by several consecutive propagations or sowings of seed. For the sake 
of brevity, and likewise because it lias been my sole mode of increase, I will 
confine these remarks to propagation by division. 
Supposing, then, that the first batch of these plants flowered from February to 
May. Let them then be taken up, divided into single crowns, with a modicum 
of roots, and planted in light, rich garden earth, in an open situation. By July 
they may be divided again and replanted. By September they will have formed 
patches from 4 in. to G in. across, with probably a dozen shoots. Towards the 
middle of October six or eight dozen of these plants should be potted into 6-in. 
pots, one lot of them to be placed in a cool conservatory, and another in a 
house heated to about 55°. The latter will flower fast, and as soon as they are 
in bloom they should be removed to the conservatory, and another lot introduced 
in their stead. The lot in the conservatory will most likely flower the strongest, 
and will come in before the first forced ones begin to fade. By introducing a 
batch of plants about every six weeks, a constant succession of flowers may be 
enjoyed in-doors from October to June. And very beautiful pot plants they make, 
while they prove as useful for vases and bouquet work. Every lady prizes her 
bouquet all the more for the few sprays of the elegant M. dissitijlora. 
For successional flowering out-of-doors, it is only necessary to divide and 
plant part of the stock, say every six weeks, from May to October. Those 
propagated latest will flower last the following season. For the first flush of 
beauty, the plants should not be reduced later than July. Those broken up in 
August, September, and October will continue to bloom freely under good 
treatment next season from May to December, so that the forced plants 
in-doors and those grown outside may be made to overlap each other by a month 
or six weeks. In mild seasons, and in sheltered warm localities, this Forget- 
Me-Not may be gathered every day in the year out-of-doors. But it is well worth 
the shelter of glass and a little forcing. 
I am told that it is grown and managed with equal ease from seed. But of 
this I have no experience. All my stock of several thousands has been raised 
from a single plant. Under liberal culture no plant can grow more freely. 
Grow it full in the sun to develop flower-buds, and flower it anywhere, and any¬ 
how you wish. Individual plants will get stunted and rusty under the best 
treatment; these refuse to grow, and throw up puny flowers of a purple colour. 
Weed them out as they appear, and propagate only from the strong, healthy 
plants. By this means the stunted strains will be almost, though possibly never 
altogether, stamped out. The first-flowering batch likewise do best, out-of-doors, 
on raised banks. On the flat, when hard frosts rapidly tread on the heels of 
rain or snow, the leaves, and occasionally the hearts of the shoots or embryo 
flowers, get frost-bitten, and such catastrophes retard the flowering by a full 
month or six weeks. Elevated ground lines pitch off the wet, and thus weaken 
the grip of the cold frost. 
