January 29. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
the tubers in a warm place to start the eyes, so that be 
can divide the roots into as many pieces as there are 
' eyes, or as many pieces as be requires, and pot them till 
| the end of May, and the tubers may be reduced so as to 
l go into four-inch pots, as every little tuber is necessary 
| to support a shoot which will throw out fresh roots for 
| itself very early. 
If, however, more plants are wanted, let the tubers be 
reduced to moderate dimensions, and potted with the 
crown of the root well above the soil, and placed in a 
moderate hot-bed, or on a stove, in February or March. 
As soon as the shoots are two inches long they may be 
broken off, if few are wanted, or carefully cut off just 
i below the lower pair of leaves; these may be struck in 
light sandy compost, in pots, under a bell-glass, and as 
the shoots push rapidly, and strike freely, they must be 
attended to daily. As soon as they are well struck, they 
should be potted singly in thumb-pots, and continued in 
peat until well established, when they may bo gradually 
hardened oil in a greenhouse or cold frame, but well 
protected at night, and in frosty weather, until the end 
of May, when they may be planted out as at first 
directed. 
Seed may be sown in pans or pots, at the beginning 
ol March, bo potted off singly when they have four rough 
leaves, and continued in heat until well-established in 
their pots, when they may be hardened off like the 
plants from cuttings, and be planted out in May; but 
seedlings need not be more than a foot or eighteen 
inches apart in the row, nor the rows more than three 
leet asunder, because, when they shew flower, all that 
are not as good as the best we have, should be pulled up 
instantly, to make more room for the better ones that 
are left, and any that are considered an acquisition 
should have stakes placed to support them; but an 
amateur who takes any jn'ide in raising a good flower 
should be severe in his judgment. 
It the outline of a flower be not perfectly round, the 
petals free from notch or points or ribs—if the flower 
be not double, globular on the face, perfect in the 
centre, and symmetrical—and if, in addition to all this, 
the petals be not thick, let it be trampled under foot, for 
we have annually too many called “first-rate show 
flowers,” with tire faults we have described. As to size, 
let it not bo taken into account. If it be small, think 
none the worse of it, for the vulgar taste which prevails 
among a few will unquestionably have to give place to 
a more rational and elegant standard; not a new 
standard, but the one originally laid down, and only 
departed from to lower the test, and enable dealers to 
send out ten where they ought only to put out one. 
G. Gjlenny. 
VERBENA CULTURE FOR EXHIBITING. 
(Continued from page 258.) 
Section 5th.—Preparing for Exhibition, whether 
as Cut Flowers, or in Pots. —We have now come to 
the fifth division of our subject, which is quite as im¬ 
portant as any that have preceded, or may follow it, 
because, though every care may be taken to bring the 
j flowers up to the mark on the very day of exhibition, 
yet, for want of proper attention, just at the nick of 
time, the whole amount of expense and labour, as far as 
regards success at the exhibition, may be thrown away. 
The first thing to prepare is a box to convey the cut 
flowers safely to the place of exhibition. The size of 
the box will of course depend upon the number of 
* trusses required for the pan. Sometimes they are 
shown in twenty-four different varieties, in such a 
case, it is desirable to take at least one-third more than 
is actually needful, in order to have some to choose 
from at the place. The distance, too, must be taken 
into consideration. If, for instance, the flowers have 
to travel fifty or a hundred miles, it will then be de¬ 
sirable to have double the number required to make up 
the stand, the box would then be required to be so 
much larger. Perhaps, after all, the box had better be 
made large enough to serve every possible requirement. 
In order to be the more useful, it may be mado so as to 
suit various kinds of cut flowers, such as Pansies, Car¬ 
nations, Dahlias, Pinks, Ranunculuses, &c. There are 
several ways of making these boxes, but perhaps the 
best and most convenient, is a square deal box, to open 
at one side, the side that opens to be hung on hinges 
like a door. This should be deep enough to hold at 
least three tiers of stands of bloom. Theso shelves, as 
they may be termed, will rest upon slips of wood, to 
separate them from each other a sufficient distance, so 
that the flowers are two inches below the stand above 
them. Each stand should be deep enough to hold a 
tier of tin bottles to be filled with water, to keep the 
flowers fresh during the journey, and through the time 
of the exhibition. These bottles should have each a 
tube of wood to fit into them, the hole through the tube 
should bo wide enough to allow the flower-stem to be 
| easily drawn through it, so far as nearly to touch the 
bottom of the bottle, and to make the stem quite firm it 
should be wedged tight in with slips of thick paper, 
wood, or cotton wool, care being taken that the flower- 
stems are not crushed or injured. The bottles should 
have their upper edges turned back wider than the 
holes, to rest upon the lid of the stand. They need not 
be more than two-and-a-half inches long, and three- 
quarters-of-an-inch in diameter. This size will be large 
enough even for Dahlia blooms. The holes for these 
bottles should be at equal distances, and wide enough 
apart to allow room for the trusses (or blooms of other 
flowers) to travel and stand on the exhibition table clear 
of each other. These stands are best made of strong 
tin. They should have a bottom and sides deep enough 
to allow room for the bottles, so that when they are 
taken out of the box, they will have a neat appearance 
upon the tables. This box, and the stands within it, 
should, as a matter of course, be made some time before 
tbey are wanted. A coat or two of paint of any colour 
the owner may fancy, will give them a more ornamental 
appearance, besides cause them to last longer. This 
apparatus will, it is true, cost some cash, but if well 
made, and taken care of afterwards, it will last a man’s 
life-time. We hope our readers will understand the 
description of it, and wo would adviso them to get one 
made without delay, so as to become well-seasoned, and 
be ready the day it is wanted. 
Small exhibitions may have more simqole things; a 
box merely deep enough to hold one stand of blooms, 
may, perhaps, be enough for some, but the same prin 
cipie of having vessels to contain water, fixed firmly in 
the stand, with the addition of the tubes to draw the 
flowers through, is indispensable. No person can 
expect to win prizes who carries his flowers in a basket, 
however carefully packed with cotton, wool, and moss. 
They are sure to be rendered almost unfit for exhibition. 
The next thing to prepare after the apparatus for con¬ 
veying the flowers, and placing them upon the tables, is 
to prepare the flowers themselves. The bed must be ex- | 
amined, and the trusses of bloom are now supposed to be i 
fully in flower. Somo that are much advanced had | 
better bo cut, put in water, and removed into some quiet 
place where there is no excitement to push them further 
on. A cellar, or a cool dairy-room, or even a cool 
parlour, where the sun’s rays are prevented entering by 
blinds or shutters, will be a suitable place. Blooms 
that are not so much advanced must be allowed to re¬ 
main on the plants till the last moment. Cut them, 
and gather a few fresh healthy leaves, fill the bottles 
with water, and theu place the leaves in the bottles first, 
