November 1. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
63 
of the fine healthy roots protruding through the 
cone of fresh earth put round the stem of the plant, 
by sinking it deeper in the new pot. We have thus 
saved plants in very unfavourable circumstances, 
but with more trouble than in the case of plants 
raised from cuttings in August, as they possessed 
more constitutional vigour, and, for their size, were 
better supplied with vigorous roots than the old 
plants, while being in small pots was another preser¬ 
vative against damping To guard against this evil 
still more, the plants were more elevated in the pots 
than those which were to have the advantage of arti¬ 
ficial heat; but, though they grew little during the 
winter, they made rapid progress after being shifted 
in the month of March. 
Seedlings will also be easier kept in cold pits during 
winter than the old plants, but not so easily as plants 
from cuttings, as the latter possess more firmness and 
concentrated matter in their stems. To he kept in 
such circumstances they should be nice stubby plants, 
raised from a sowing made in the last days of July, 
or the beginning of August, and during the winter 
should also stand rather high in their pots. A great 
number of them can be grown in a little space, as it 
is not advisable to grow the plants large until you 
see their quality, and a four or five-inch pot, with 
light rich soil, will flower them beautifully, if they 
are kept a little shaded, and well supplied with water. 
These little pots are also extremely useful for supply¬ 
ing baskets and vases, as when turned out when 
showing flower, or even in bloom, they scarcely ever 
feel the change. Seed from very first-rate kinds is 
not to be procured in the market, though a packet 
may be got for a few pence, from which you may 
expect to get some very pretty things, though per¬ 
haps not a great many that would just please a florist’s 
eye. It is too late to sow them now this season, but 
you might try some next March, and as the seed is 
very small a hint or two as to its management may 
not be out of place now, more especially as the same 
treatment will apply to the rearing of plants from 
many other kinds of small seeds. Take one or more 
of five-inch pots; fill each half full, or nearly so, 
with drainage; then take equal parts of peat, leaf- 
mould, and libry loam, that have been placed over a 
furnace, or by the side of a kitchen fire, so as to set 
all worms and insects a flitting; expose it to the 
atmosphere for several days afterwards, and then rub 
it into pieces through your hands, so that the largest 
piece shall not be bigger than a small marble ; then 
sift it through a three-eighth-inch sieve—what re¬ 
mains is to go over the drainage: sift again with one 
of the finest sieves you have, and with what remains 
in the sieve, after adding to it a little sand, fill the 
pots to within half an inch of the top, when pressed 
firm; then, after adding a fifth part of silver sand to 
the fine matter that passed through the sieve, fill up 
to within a quarter of an inch of the top, and give all a 
thorough good soaking with water, either by using a 
fine rose, or, what is quite as well, setting the pots just 
over the rim in a pail or tub of water. After the pots 
have stood in a shady place for a day or two to drain, 
the surface may have just the slightest sprinkling of 
the fine soil thrown across it, and then be smoothed 
with a round piece of wood, with a nail or pin stuck 
in the centre for holding by, and kept for this pur-, 
pose. On this smoothed surface sow your seed; 
scatter over it the slightest portion of your fine soil, 
or a little dry silver sand, and press the surface again, 
and cover the pot with a square of glass laid over 
it. Place the pot in any shady place in a cold pit 
or frame in August or September, and in a shady 
place in any house where you can command a tem¬ 
perature of from 45° to 50° in the month of March. 
If no shady place is within your reach, say in a win¬ 
dow, then the glass should be covered with cloth or 
paper during the day. By such process you will 
scarcely ever require to water the seeds until they 
are up. It is this watering which, in the case of 
small seeds, often either washes them over the pot, 
sinks them in a mass of mud too deep for their ger¬ 
mination, or makes the surface so hard that they 
cannot get through it, because the air and its oxygen 
does not reach them. They may thus be raised ad¬ 
mirably in the window of a sitting-room, and a pretty 
and instructive amusement it would be in the case 
of spring-sown seeds. Even autumn-sown ones 
would do well were it not that the air of the room 
during winter would be apt to be too close and dry, 
but the latter would be greatly obviated by having 
the plants standing, not upon, but above, a vessel 
containing a thin stratum of water. When once our 
cottage friends get fond of these plants they will 
soon manage them well enough. In extreme cases 
in winter they should preserve their little favourites 
by placing above them oiled paper caps, which will 
answer the purpose as well in their case as the pretty 
Wardian cases do in that of their wealthier neigh¬ 
bours. But I have almost forgotten to tell you that 
your labour with seedling calceolarias is not done 
with the sowing of them. As soon as they are big 
enough to be got hold of, though not larger than a 
good pin-head, they must be pricked out one inch 
apart into pans, or boxes, or pots, prepared somewhat 
similarly to the seed pots, and then, as soon as these 
begin to touch each other, they must be potted, at 
first three in a pot, and then separately. In the 
description of the seed pot, you may imagine that 
the most of it is unnecessary, and involves much 
trouble, which might as well be avoided, but I can 
assure you that if followed it will save you trouble 
and disappointment too, and I can speak confidently, 
having thousands of pots so filled every year for 
seeds and cuttings. Of course all this seeming trouble 
is not gone through for one seed pan; but when the 
soil is thus prepared, and carefully placed aside, it is 
always ready, according to its quantity, for filliug 
scores, or hundreds, aud may then be done quite as 
quickly as we have recommended as when a person 
stuffs a pot with what comes first to hand, with every 
probability of having it in his power to rail at the 
badness of a certain seedsman’s wares, which seems 
much more pleasant than blaming his own careless¬ 
ness. Rare broad shoulders these seedsmen ought 
to have; though, like the rest of us, far from blame¬ 
less, they are yet often more sinned against than 
sinning. 
I can only, at present, add one word on shrubby 
calceolarias. Most of them may be kept, with com¬ 
mon care, in a cold pit, window, or greenhouse. They 
are easily propagated in a cold pit, or under a hand¬ 
glass, in September, and still easier when commenced 
to grow in spring, with the assistance of a mild bot¬ 
tom-heat. If you have a few fine specimens in the 
borders which you wish to preserve, you may repot 
them carefully now, if you can plunge the pot in a 
mild bottom-heat, to encourage the formation of fresh 
roots, the top of the plants being sprinkled, and 
shaded from the sun to prevent evaporation, and 
kept cool by the admission of air. Without these 
precautions, you may keep your plants green during 
the winter, but ten to one they will bid you good-bye 
in the spring. R. Fish. 
