242 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
December 29. 
this is a great pity, and plant-lovers are to blame to 
grudge the necessary care of such a charming flower 
(when in bloom), because it is not interesting or beautiful 
when the bloom is over. It may be ignorance is the 
cause, and if so, I will try to give the information how 
to cultivate it. 
Soil—A t Pine-Apple Place we grew this plant, and 
bloomed it finely; and such is its beauty, that almost 
every visitor purchased a pot of it. The soil used con¬ 
sisted of loam, sandy peat or heath mould, and two- 
year-old decayed leaves, in equal parts. 
Management .—The pots were five inches in diameter, 
and three bulbs were usually placed in each of these pots. | 
The pots were well-drained, and filled with the compost 1 
to within about an inch-and-a-halt of the rim; the bulbs 
were then placed upon the soil, and covered an inch 
deep, leaving half-an-inch to hold water. This potting 
was performed about the first week in October, and the 
pots were placed in a cold pit, where they remained 
through the winter, with the protection of a covering of 
double mats in severe frosty weather. About the end 
of February they wore placed in the greenhouse, on a 
shelf near to the glass, and when the leaves nearly 
reached to it they were placed upon a platform near the 
front windows, where they stood till they bloomed, and 
then were placed on the stage amongst other plants in 
bloom. Such is the treatment given to imported bulbs, 
which always flowered most satisfactorily. 
The treatment, after blooming, consists in giving a 
i due supply of water at the root, till the leaves begin to 
1 fade, and then it should be gradually lessened in 
j quantity, and as they are then not very sightly objects 
j they should be placed in a cold frame to ripen the bulbs, 
! and no water should be given to them. Where there is 
convenience, it is better to keep them in the dry soil in 
the pots, which, to prevent any water reaching the soil, 
I should be laid on their side, and put into a cool shed or 
room till the planting season arrives ; then shake them 
out of the soil, rub off the decayed roots, and repot them 
entirely in fresh compost. 
Propagation. Bg Offsets .—These are produced rather 
sparingly, and as the bulbs are imported from Holland 
at a very moderate price, it is scarcely worth while to 
pot the offsets, yet, as some amateurs may bo desirous 
of increasing their stock, in that case, plant the offsets j 
in the above compost, in a box largo enough to hold 
the entire lot of small offsets. They should be planted 
about September, placed in a cold pit, and grown on as 
long as possible, and allowed to go to rest as soon as the 
leaves decay. The second year the bulbs will have in¬ 
creased in size, and, therefore, should be planted thinner. 
What one box held the first year will be found sufficient 
to fill two of the same dimensions the second year: and j 
in the third, many of them will flower; they should, 
therefore, be put into the pots, and treated exactly like 
the old full-sized bulbs. This is so lovely a flower that 
I should be sorry to see its colours varied by hybridizing, 
unless a larger-blossomed variety could be raised, which 
can only be obtained by liberal treatment, and saving i 
seed from the largest flowers and strongest plants. 
Should this be attempted, the seed should be sown in 
wide, flat, earthen, unglazcd pans, and the bulbs should 
be kept in the pans for the first two years, then carefully 
sifted out of the soil, and planted thinner in boxes, and 
treated in the same way as the offsets till they flower. 
Iris Persica (The Persian Iris).—This is, also, a 
bulbous species, and requires pit-culture, in pots, to 
grow it to perfection, and keep it for any length of time. 
Planted in the open border it soon perishes, probably 
from the moist soil and climate of this country. The 
flowers are variegated in a most pleasing and elegant 
manner, and have the additional valuable qualities of 
I being most agreeably perfumed, or sweet-scented. Like 
the preceding species, it is a dwarf-growing plant, in 
fact, still more so. I have never seen one more than 
four inches high, hence it is a suitable plant for a small 
basket in a window, or to place in an ornamental vase 
on the drawing-room table. On account of its agreeable 
fragrance it is a good flower for a hand bouquet. 
In cultivation proceed with and follow the method 
described above for its lovely compeer the Iris pavonia. 
T. Appleby. 
(To be continued .) 
RHUBARB AND ITS FORCING. 
In following out the remarks made at page 221 on 
the Rhubarb, we now come to the forcing of that veget¬ 
able, and in so doing some difficulties are met with 
which might not be expected from a plant, which, 
seemingly, has the power to store up the germs of its 
future growth ; yet many have been deceived, even in 
forcing Rhubarb, for common as it is, there is some¬ 
thing more required, to bring it into use at Christmas, 
than introduces Sea-kale at that time; for although they 
are both deep-rooted plants, and the edible portions of 
each are the same, the one is much sooner brought into 
use than the other. 
It would appear that “ the crown,” or that portion of 
a Sea-kale plant which is above the surface, is much 
easier operated on by heat than is that of the Rhubarb, 
which, by-the-by, contains but little that assumes a woody 
shape, as its incipient buds, seated as they are amongst 
roots fleshy and torpid, are not to be started into life 
without an efficient action being also given to those roots, 
which cannot well be done without applying more heating 
matter to the surface of the ground than the plants will 
bear; hence the many failures in its forcing by the 
plants being scalded, or otherwise so indifferently 
supplied with warmth, that it is unable to reach those 
recesses into which it is necessary to introduce it to 
ensure a proper growth. These difficulties have led to 
another mode of applying the heat, which is that of 
taking up the plants and placing them on such heating 
material as comes to hand, whereby its growth may be 
reckoned on with safety to come in at a particular time. 
Now, to have it at Christmas, it must be taken up and 
forced in that way later in the season, say the end of 
January or February. A very little heat will bring it 
on in the open ground without the sacrifice which 
taking-up incurs, which is considerable where proper 
provision has not been made for it; but as this may be 
done with very little trouble, it may be as well here to 
notice the way in which that is done. 
When a family requires a supply of Rhubarb as early 
in the season as possible, it is customary to prepare a 
quantity of plants every year, so that a portion may 
be taken up in autumn without diminishing the supply 
below what is wanted at the natural season; for this 
purpose, it is quite as well to take up a part of the old 
plants, say those which have been in bearing some two 
or three years, and the crowns have become so much 
enlarged, or divided, as to occupy more ground than can 
be covered by an ordinary Sea-kale pot of about one foot 
I in diameter. In taking up these it is necessary to be 
careful, in order to preserve as much of the root unhurt 
* as possible; dig, therefore, well round them; then un¬ 
dermine them the same way as is done in taking up 
shrubs where a ball is required. If the ground he light, 
loose, or open, a mat may be tied round the ball during 
the course of operations, for it is essential that a large 
bulk of earth should remain undisturbed around each 
ball, presenting a huge clod-like shape, often sufficiently 
large to be a good-sized barrow load. 
When a sufficient number of these have been pre¬ 
pared, it is then necessary to look to the heating con- 
