APRIL. ' 
81 
pit or frame, which should be kept rather close until the young plants appear, 
when air should be freely given. Towards the antumn it is advisable to remove 
them to the shelves of a greenhouse. Those sown in the autumn should at 
once be placed on a shelf in the greenhouse, and care should be taken not to 
over-water them during the winter months. If properly managed the plants 
will be fit for transplanting about the beginning of June. The spring-sown 
should remain in the pans or boxes in which they were sown until the following 
spring, by which time they w r ill have formed bulbs as large as good-sized peas, 
and some of them as large as hazel-nuts. If a pit or frame be at liberty, 
prepare it as follows for them :—Place some decayed leaves or rotten dung at 
bottom to the depth of 8 or 10 inches, and cover this with a mixture of good 
loam, leaf mould, and sand, about 4 inches deep. The surface, when made 
level, should be about 6 to 8 inches from the glass. Plant about 6 inches 
every way. Keep them rather close until they begin to grow, when air should 
be admitted freely during the day ; water well when they require it. About 
midsummer the light should be taken off altogether, as the plants will require 
no further care than sufficiently watering them, if the season be a dry one, and 
as often as they may require it. Towards the middle of September the whole 
should be taken up carefully and potted, one bulb in a small pot. Fit the pot 
to the size of the plant, and be careful not to place a small bulb in a large pot; 
60-sized pots for small ones, and 48 for the larger, will be sufficient. Use the 
soil previously recommended. In potting be careful not to cover the bulbs 
entirely with soil. When potted they should be placed on the shelves of the 
greenhouse, where they can have plenty of air when the state of the weather 
permits. They should not have much water until they begin to grow, when it 
should be given carefully. Most of the plants will flower the following season. 
The hardy kinds, which flower in summer and autumn, will do well in a cold 
pit or frame, if kept rather dry and safe from frost. 
Towards Christmas, if the plants are in good health, C. coum will begin to 
flower, and will continue producing fresh flowers until the end of February, by 
which time C. persicum and its varieties will begin to flower, and will continue 
producing fresh flowers until May. When done flowering the plants must be 
properly attended to in watering, &c., until the foliage begins to decay 
naturally, when water must be sparingly given them, and finally withheld 
altogether. The bulbs should remain in the pots when in a state of rest; and 
■whilst in this state all the kinds are best kept in cold pits or frames, as the 
soil in pots does not dry up so soon as when they are kept on shelves in the 
greenhouse. The light should remain off in dry weather, but should always 
be put on during heavy rains, as the soil in the pots may get too moist whilst 
the bulbs are destitute of leaves, which would be very injurious. 
Before the bulbs start into fresh growth, the pots should be fresh-surfaced 
with soil, and any bulbs that require a larger pot should have it at this time. 
The same general treatment applies to all the kinds of Cyclamen, with the 
exception that, as the varieties of C. persicum are more impatient of cold and 
wet, as already remarked, than the hardy kinds, they should be kept during 
the winter on the shelves of a greenhouse, and not placed in a pit or frame 
with the others. The season for resting the bulbs depends on the sorts. 
C. europeeum and C. neapolitanum, which flower in the autumn, will be at rest 
when C. persicum, which flowers in spring, will be in full growth. Whilst at 
rest, the bulbs of all kinds should remain in the pots, and no water should, if 
possible, be given. If plunged in rotten leaves or tan, in a pit or frame, and 
the lights are kept on during rains, giving plenty of air at the same time, also 
for a few hours in the middle of the day, in very hot weather, shading them 
the while, but taking care to remove the light during the night. 
