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CULTIVATION OF THE SCHIZANTHUS PINNATUS AND 
S. PRIESTIIj IN POTS. 
TO THE EDITOR OF THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
Sir, — I have much pleasure in forwarding for insertion in your 
valuable Journal a few observations on the cultivation of the 
Schizanthus pinnatus and S. Priestii in pots ; which, when well 
grown, are generally admired, not only for their singular and 
pretty flowers, but also for their beautiful habits of growth. 
I sow the seed in October on a slight hotbed; and when the 
seedlings appear above ground, air is freely admitted to prevent 
them from drawing up weakly. When they have four leaves I 
prick them off into 48-sized pots, six or eight in a pot, being care¬ 
ful not to injure the roots when transplanting them. About six or 
seven weeks after this, I pot them in small sixties, placing them as 
near the glass as possible, with a steady temperature of sixty degrees. 
To prevent the plants from becoming spindly, I admit as much 
air as possible. The compost, half good maiden loam of a sandy 
nature, a quarter rotten dung, and a quarter leaf-mould, well mixed 
and riddled through a coarse screen. I am not particular about the 
drainage, as I never use more than three or four pieces of potsherds; 
\ when the weather is frosty I remove the plants to the succession 
pine-house until the peach-house is set to work, when I place 
them there to complete their growth. I pay the same attention 
to them as I would to balsams, or coxcombs, by shifting them 
into larger-sized pots as soon as the roots appear through the soil. 
When the plants throw out their lateral shoots, I tie them neatly 
to sticks ; if allowed to grow a great length before being tied, 
handsome plants cannot be made of them. I shift a few of the 
best plants into larger sized pots, one foot in diameter. The plants 
so treated have attained seven feet in height, forming one mass cf 
flowers from the surface of the pot to the top of the plant. When 
they are in flower I remove them to the drawing-room, conser¬ 
vatory, or greenhouse, as required, where they will remain in 
perfection two months, and sometimes more, which makes them a 
valuable acquisition to our collections of showy free flowering 
plants. It should be observed, that these plants will flower much 
sooner in forty-eights than in larger sized pots. To produce a. 
