217 
ON THE CULTURE OF CALCEOLARIAS. 
{Continued from page 113.) 
BY MR. JOHN GREEN, GARDENER TO SIR EDMUND ANTROBUS, BART. 
The plants that have been kept in a healthy growing state, and 
treated as recommended in my last letter, will by the first week 
in March have filled a No. 24 size pot. About that time I re-pot 
them for the last time into their blooming pots ; the strongest 
growing kinds I put into No. 12, and the weaker kinds into No. 
18 ; being very particular that the pots, if they are old ones, are 
quite clean and sweet, and rather wide topped, as spreading pots 
always keep the earth in a much better state for all plants than 
the upright kind. 
I give them, as before, a liberal drainage, first by placing a 
quantity of large pieces of potsherds, then an equal quantity of 
lumps, as large as a hen’s egg, of strong loam, bog mould, and 
cow-dung; over which I sprinkle some small potsherds to insure 
a good drainage ; I add a little more loam and well-decayed cow- 
dung to the rest of the mixture. After this final potting I place 
the plants in front of the geranium-house, where I can shade 
them with bunting or gauze in hot weather, from mid-day sun. 
I shut the house up early in the afternoon, and give them a gentle 
syringing over the leaves as soon as the house is closed ; and raise 
the temperature of the house to 45° at night, and 60° in the day j 
giving air as much as possible at every opportunity. Great care 
must be taken in watering, giving them only a limited quantity 
till the plants begin to fill the pots with roots, when a good supply 
is required ; in addition to which I water them once a week with 
liquid manure from sheep-dung well fermented. The first bloom- 
stems grow very strong, and form very irregular heads of bloom, 
and are naked at the bottom ; to prevent that I pinch all the 
blooming stems off, when they are about three inches above the 
surface. At the base of each shoot so pinched off will grow out 
several stems of an equal strength : and, in order to have the plants 
uniform in growth, a slight stake is placed to each stem, spreading 
equally over the pot, leaving plenty of room for the flowers to ex¬ 
pand. They must of course be well fumigated with tobacco on 
the first appearance of green*fly ; for if once injured by that pest 
they seldom recover. 
1 F 
VOL. I. NO. IX. 
