90 
CULTURE OF STOVE PLANTS. 
page 217. The Mesembryanthemum, Crassula, &c. require to be 
potted in a good rich, light soil, and will bear a greater supply of 
water than the other. The manner of propagation is much the 
same in both; the cutting striking best when the wound made by 
the knife is dried up and healed. 
10. The second kind includes the plants like Gesneria, Gloxinia, 
&c. The best soil for these is sandy loam and peat, with a little 
very rotten dung mixed. At the season of full growth, they will 
bear a good supply of water, but after flowering they should be 
moved into a cooler situation, and have a small portion of water for 
a week or two. Afterwards keep them quite dry, till the tops have 
died down; let them remain so until nearly the time for starting 
again, then cut off the tops, shake the roots from the soil, and plant 
each strong one singly in a pot, and the smaller ones two or three in a 
pot, filled with the above compost, and place them in the stove again. 
They are propagated both by cuttings and single leaves, which may 
be planted either in sand or mould, plunged in heat, and be covered 
with a bell glass. Some of them also produce seeds. 
11. Damp Stove Plants .—The many genera coming under this 
head require a little variation in their treatment, arising from habits 
and peculiarities of each; yet the general course of management is 
much the same in all. 
12. The soil best suited for their growth is composed of light 
sandy loam, the top spit from a pasture, leaf mould, and peat, in the 
proportion of one half of the former, to one fourth of each of the 
latter, which should be thrown together from three to six months 
before using, that the turf may be well rotted. 
13: This soil should not be sifted previous to using, but be well 
broken in pieces ; for sifting, though necessary in some cases of plant 
culture, will not suit plants in general, for, bv removing the fibrous 
particles from the soil, it sets hard in the pots and becomes unconge¬ 
nial for the growth of the tender roots. 
14. The usual times of potting are from the middle of March to 
the middle of April, and from the beginning to the end of Septem¬ 
ber. But the best plan is, constantly to look through the plants, and 
repot all that require it, at any time; for if the roots once become 
matted in the pots, the plants receive a check in their growth, 
from which they require some time to recover. 
15. In potting, always give a good drainage with broken pots, for 
although many plants require a liberal supply of water, yet stagna¬ 
tion is generally injurious. To prevent the soil from washing into 
the broken pots at the bottom, lay immediately over them a little of 
the fibrous portion of the soil. 
