' March 9. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
441. 
unless, care is taken to have it heated and moistened 
before coming in contact with tender plants. Very 
little lire should, therefore, be put on such houses in a 
morning until you satisfy yourself that there is no like¬ 
lihood of the sun shining ; ever keeping in view, that the 
sun-heat is the best as well as the cheapest. With cool 
pipes or hues, little air would be required in very cold, 
frosty weather during the two last and the two first 
months of the year. If the sun should come strong, 
when, unawares, the pipes or flues are hot, instead of 
letting in great blasts of air, it is much preferable to 
draw the fires out. Syringe the house, paths, &c., and, 
if necessary, shade the house, or even throw water over 
it with the syringe. If the sun is likely to continue, the 
water may be slightly tinged with whiting. The worst 
of the latter plan would be, that as dull weather might 
soon succeed, the house would be darkened, aud 
would require a little labour, or a good shower to 
clear it all away. With a night temperature of 40°, 
or, if higher, with means secured for giving moisture 
to the air, otherwise than from the soil and stems 
of the plants, the house may rise from twenty to 
twenty-five degrees from sun-beat, for a few hours, 
and the plants, in a keen, frosty air, would be better 
without opening the sashes than with it. But, if that 
must be done, and there is no way of ameliorating the 
air before admitting it, give but a small quantity at the 
highest part of the roof; and though there the air that 
escapes will be the moistest as well as the hottest, the 
air admitted will also be somewhat moistened and heated 
before reaching the plants, and all such scalding and 
burning will be avoided. Much of all the anxiety will 
be guarded against, so far as all greenhouses are con¬ 
cerned, by never allowing a strong fire-heat and a power¬ 
ful sun-heat to act together. When seeing plants ex¬ 
posed to great and sudden extremes, and knowing the 
consequences that are sure to result, though some mani¬ 
fest it sooner than others, I have thought a good lesson 
would be given if the perpetrators were snatched out of 
their warm bed some keen night, and kept in the open 
air for an hour without the luxury of clothing. 
i 
PRUNING AND POTTING EPACRISES. 
“I have some nice plants ( impressa ), that have just 
finished blooming. Should I prune off the long shoots 
now, or wait until I pot them ? I have nothing but a 
greenhouse. My Epacrises are not looking healthy. The 
ffowers have opened moderately. 1 think the soil is in 
bad order. I could give the plants a little heat in a pit. 
Shall I prune and fresh pot, and get them to grow 
freely?” The answer to both must be based on the 
same principle—never to give a check to roots aud 
branches at once, if it can be avoided. Recollect, there 
1 is a constant reciprocal action going on, aud, therefore, 
when a check or mutilation takes place in one part, 
there will be an effort made by the other part to replace 
or repair the injury. Here are two Thorn plants; you 
take up one, prune it down, and plant it again; the other 
you leave in the ground, after pruning it back in a simi¬ 
lar manner. Have you any doubt which of these would 
i grow the most vigorously the first season? Here are 
j two nice Geraniums, in August or September, that must 
I be cut in and repotted for the following year. Cut down 
| one, and r-epot, by partly disrooting, and thus give the 
whole plant a sudden check: prune in the other; leave 
the strength in stems and roots full opportunity to exert 
! itself in forming new branches; and when these are 
about an inch in length, shake the old soil from the 
roots, prune them a little, if necessary, and bring these 
healthy young shoots to react, in turn, upon the 
forming of fresh and vigorous roots. Will the result 
ever leave you in doubt which system to adopt in future ? 
Just so with these Epacrises. In a greenhouse, the month 
of March or April will bo soon enough to prune the 
young shoots freely back to witbiu a bud or two of 
whence they come. Then they should be kept in the 
warmest and closest place; and when the young shoots 
are growing away freely, and when from an inch and on¬ 
wards iu length, then is the time to repot them, merely 
picking out a little of the most exhausted soil, and 
doing as little injury to the roots as possible ; keeping 
the plants a little shaded for some time afterwards, 
giving them what incentives to growth you can after¬ 
wards—for the plant possesses a high temperature and 
a clear sun in Australia—and taking care to have the 
wood well ripened in September and October. 
The last inquiry I would give much the same answer to. 
Even although the soil was a little sodden, and a worm 
had got into it, I would prefer gettingthe slimy fellow out, 
by sending a small bit of wire through the ball, and re¬ 
arranging the drainage, and then cutting down, and 
having fresh shoots started before repotting. If, how¬ 
ever, the soil was in a very bad state indeed, I would 
repot at once, very likely in a smaller, clean pot; but 
then I would do little to the top until the roots were 
working freely in the fresh soil, and then the pruning 
back would be effected. During the whole of this 
process, a little shade, and an increase of temperature, 
would lie desirable. By this latter simple mode many 
a very sickly plant has been restored. By potting and 
pruning at once many such plant has at once gone to 
its final resting place. During the summer, whilst 
growing, the whole tribe likes heat and moisture. Hence, 
when there is no other house—such as a vinery, peachery, 
or even the cool end of a pine-stove—a cold pit, kept 
warm and moist after May, by giving, comparatively, a 
small supply of air, will suit them better than a green¬ 
house. Wherever grown they must be fully exposed to 
sun, and be saved from drenching rains in September, 
and be housed iu October. Need I add, that fibry peat 
should form the constituent of the soil, with an addition 
of silver sand, broken pots, and charcoal, to keep it open. 
LARGE GERANIUM PLANTS DYING. 
“ What can be the reason?” I cannot say, except it 
be the common result of all organised existence that do, 
or are made to live fast. I, myself, sent some queries 
respecting such misfortunes, but no answer came. My 
impression, then, is, that when we grow large specimens, 
in a short time they as prematurely decay. I found this 
to be the case when coaxing extra rapid growth by 
adopting the one or large shift system. I have lost 
some large Geraniumsfor several years. Several Fancies 
went at the collar, with heads from three to four-and-a- 
halt-feet in diameter, and they could not have been 
more than four years old from the cutting. The Fancies 
seem more liable to this than the more succulent kinds. 
We must just be content, I suppose, with smaller and 
younger plants. 
LOSING PLANTS. 
“ Do you never lose any plants that you have resolved 
upon keeping? We should not feel so disheartened by 
our losses, did we know that you and your coadjutors 
experienced at times a similar misfortune?” Well, be 
encouraged, by all means. I, even if 1 did not venture 
to say we, could give you many a chapter on failures. 
The fact is, that there are few advices I could tender 
but have been dunned into my own brain by a fair 
spice of disappointment, from which I would willingly 
relieve you. Even this last winter I have not been free 
from them, especially in two instances. The first had 
reference to Calceolaria amplcxicaulis, a favourite of 
mine, because of its soft lemon colour, and a free 
bloomer when rightly treated. I lately described how 
my Calceolarias stood on a north border, uncovered for 
ever so many weeks, but none suffered except this 
amplexicaulis, and of that I have not got one healthy 
