February 23, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
roots show through it. The top and moss 
and all—is then cut off, placed in a pot of 
I soil, and shaded and syringed for a fort¬ 
night or so, after which the newly-formed 
plant may be trusted to look after itself. 
(iloxinias. 
All of these may now be brought from 
their winter quarters and stood in a warm, 
moist, and fairly light spot. As soon as the 
I blanched growths made beneath the stage 
have become green, the plants should be 
I shaken out, freed of the bulk of the old soil, 
and repotted into the same sized pot. Use 
an open compost of fibrous loam, leaf mould 
! or peat, and coarse sand, dusting a little 
nitrate of potash or steamed bone flour 
I among the compost if it is at all poor. 
Just bury the tops of the corms, then water¬ 
ing will take the soil down far enough to 
avoid injuring the young growths when sub¬ 
sequently wielding the water can. A very 
moist spot suits Gloxinias best ; they dislike 
strong sunshine, and detest overhead syring¬ 
ing. 
Fuchsias and Heliotropes. 
Old plants, started as advised in calendar 
for January 26, should now be yielding 
an abundance of cuttings. In the case of 
Fuchsias, these can be cut or slipped off the 
old stems when about 2 in. or 3 in. long, 
and inserted in pots of sandy soil. If 
wanted for bedding out, quite large, but 
well crocked, pans may be used, inserting 
the cuttings thickly all over the surface. 
Transplanting to other pans or boxes, or 
small pots, must follow when the cuttings 
are rooted. Plenty of sand and moisture 
are the secrets of Fuchsia propagation; 
given these cuttings root like weeds. Helio¬ 
tropes require much the same treatment, but 
the cuttings should be allowed to become 
! strong, and not be removed from the parent 
plants until they are 3 in. or 4 in. long. 
Drought, either in the soil or overhead, is 
fatal to successful propagation. 
Lobelias. 
Prick out the young seedlings as soon as 
they can be lifted with a cleft safety match, 
and insert them, 2 in. apart, in pans or 
boxes which have been well crocked and 
filled with sandy soil. Leave this some¬ 
what loose on the surface, and coyer it well 
with fine silver sand, then the little seed¬ 
lings can be inserted easily and properly. 
When dealing with large quantities of these 
and other tiny seedlings, I have used a 
round piece of board, studded with nails at 
2 in. apart, to make the holes to receive 
the young plants. In this way, all the holes 
are made at once, and a given number of 
plants per pan is assured. The same plan 
answers .well for putting in Lobelia cuttings, 
which should now be taken off, as they be¬ 
come available, and dealt with as adv'sed 
for seedlings. Shading must follow removal 
in each case, and very gentle syringing. 
Clematises. 
These should be pruned and retrained be- 
bore the young growths get large enough to 
be troublesome. The Jackmannii section 
should be cut back to within a foot of the 
pots, but others need no cutting back at all. 
Simply cut away weak and superfluous 
shoots, and train in the others. A top¬ 
dressing of good rich loam and well decayed 
stable manure, in equal parts, will help the 
plants to make a good start. 
Strawberries. 
As the earliest flowers open, tap them 
with the finger, or lightly dust a rabbit's 
tail over them at the sunniest, driest period 
of the day. A temperature of 60 degrees 
should be maintained during the flowering 
period, and the plants must never be al¬ 
lowed to become dry. On sunny shelves, 
each pot may be stood in a saucer of water 
as soon as the fruit is set and swelling. 
“ SUNNYSIDE.” 
R Yellow 
Border Plant 
(CHRYSOPSIS VILLOSA). 
The name Chrysopsis is given to a 
genus of plants in allusion to the golden- 
yellow colour of the flowers. Such a 
description might recall a yellow Chry¬ 
santhemum or Sunflower, but the plant 
under notice is much dwarfer and more 
easily accommodated in small gardens 
than either. The stems of the plant illus¬ 
trated were only iSin. high, and termin¬ 
ated in a cluster of golden-yellow flowers, 
each about iin. to ij^in. across. The 
plant is a native of North America, from 
whence comes so many of the yellow 
border flowers, which have proved hardy 
in this country. Cultivation is easy, as 
the plant will thrive in any well-cultivated 
garden soil. Propagation may be 
effected by cuttings of the shoots during 
summer, but a thriving plant will so.on 
increase sufficiently to supply any number 
that may be required by division of the 
clumps in spring. Preference should be 
given to the young portions of the plant 
so long as the stock is plentiful and the 
older portions may be discarded. 
Orchids for Amateurs. 
Cypripediums. 
If there is one class of Orchids more 
likely to be successfully cultivated by ama¬ 
teur growers than another, it is the Slipper 
Orchids “ Cypripediums.” There are several 
varieties, such as C. Stonei, C. rothschildi- 
anum, C. Lowii, and others which belong 
to this section, that one must except from a 
general classification of kinds that are suit¬ 
able for the usual accommodation possessed 
by amateurs. The reason for this is that 
they require the conditions of a hot house 
or stove in which to grow them success¬ 
fully. To be taken also into account, there 
is their slow growing character. It will 
generally take such species as C. roth- 
schildianum about three years to mature a 
growth sufficient to reach the flowering 
stage. To get a plant to form anything like 
a decent specimen it needs a great deal of 
pot room, as there are generally two growths 
in advance of the one which produces the 
flowers. This will at once show the only 
possible means by which the plants can pro¬ 
duce annual growths fit for flowering. They 
are most beautiful and desirable kinds where 
suitable conditions can be provided for 
them. Cypripediums for the intermediate 
house—that is, where a temperature of about 
60 degrees can be maintained under normal 
outside conditions—include many' beautiful 
kinds, in fact even the so-called cool or 
winter flowering Section may be included 
here, providing they are placed at the coolest 
end of the house and that no cooler accom¬ 
modation can be obtained for (hem. In the 
