86 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
young wood to be small, and consequently soon hardened when 
they set about forming flower-buds — a thing to be avoided as 
much as possible in the early stages of the growth, which 
should be quick and succulent, so as to retain all the lower 
foliage : this rapid production of wood is greatly assisted by 
admitting every night sufficient steam from the tank mentioned 
to fill the house, which, condensing on the plants, covers them 
with a genial dew-like moisture, the benefits of which will be 
visible in a week. This treatment should be continued through¬ 
out the growth of the plants, until they have attained the 
required size, when it becomes necessary to diminish the sup- 
ply r of moisture, that the blooms may have proper brilliancy. 
They will nowrequire constant shading from the sun, and, indeed, 
the shade may be applied occasionally even earlier than this 
with much advantage, for, although they are natives of the 
sunny hill-sides of Southern America, I have found that ex¬ 
posure to the sun retards the developement of wood and induces 
a state of flowering—no matter what the size or age of the plant 
be—so that protection from its rays is necessary in the first 
instance, to allow the plant to make the rapid growth so essential 
to its beauty, and afterwards to preserve the colour of the 
flowers. The only period at which the full influence of the sun 
is desirable is just at the completion of the season’s growth, for 
about a -week or ten days, to throw them into flowering: of 
course, plenty of water must be given all the time the plants 
are growing and flowering, and, if steam cannot be admitted, the 
syringe should be used freely until the blooming time arrives: 
in short, their culture may be summed up thus, — a free open 
soil, and plenty of it, and a continually moist atmosphere. For 
the winter treatment I would recommend that they be cut down 
to within at most six inches of the base of the stem. This 
keeps them dwarf and bushy, besides inducing a stronger 
growth; and, after being thoroughly dried, they may be stowed 
away in a shed, or any other dry place impervious to frost, and 
their places may then be occupied with other plants required, 
either for turning out into the flower-garden during the summer 
months, or as a help to other houses that are crowded. 
I subjoin a list of a few that may be termed indispensable, 
And am, &c., 
F. T. C. 
Kent. 
