13 AH 
1)AH 
taking especial care to shade them from 
the sun until they are rooted. Some¬ 
times, with scarce sorts, the young plants 
have their tops taken off, and every bit 
of a shoot which rises from the old tubers 
is also struck, a practice that nothing 
but the natural desire to “make the 
most of a good thing” can excuse, as it 
entails weak, unhealthy plants, which 
cannot possibly produce fine flowers. 
The amateur who grows only for the 
sake of really handsome blooms, should 
not allow this desire to extend beyond 
just the' strongest shoots, or disappoint¬ 
ment will inevitably ensue, and these, 
when struck, should be encouraged to 
grow by frequent shifting and every 
other means, that when the season ar¬ 
rives for consigning them to the open 
garden, he may not only find healthy, 
but truly vigorous plants for the pur¬ 
pose ; between the periods mentioned, 
and over which this repotting and sti¬ 
mulative regimen extends, the plants 
should be gradually inured to the action 
of the sun and air, that they may receive 
no check on their final transit; for no¬ 
thing can be more unreasonable than 
to expect after being confined, as 
is too frequently the case, in a little 
pot for three months, and until its roots 
have become interwoven to a complete 
solid body, that such plants should pro¬ 
ceed with the rapidity and vigour of one 
to which attention has been given, and 
consequently has all its energies in an 
active healthy state : so also it is equally 
wrong to defer the propagation till the 
last minute, and then as soon as a single 
root or perhaps two are emitted by the 
cutting, the poor little thing is at once 
exposed to the crippling effects of a cold 
wind, or the enervating influence of a 
scorching sun. 
The end of May is the usual time for 
transplanting to the open ground, as, in 
ordinary seasons, all danger of frost is 
passed away, and unless the weather is 
particularly serene and genial, the plants 
should be protected with handlights or 
some other contrivance, until they have 
become re-established. We have been 
thus minute over the first part of their 
culture because we believe that very 
much depends on how they are then ma¬ 
naged, not but that a great deal less 
trouble will suffice when merely grown 
for ornamenting the borders; so that 
plants can be had at the required tune, 
it is sufficient for that purpose ; but we 
are now writing of the treat ment of such 
as are cultivated for exhibiting or the 
production of the very finest flowers. 
We have indeed seen it printed, that to 
take off cuttings, or incur the trouble of 
starting the roots at all, was quite need¬ 
less ; that merely planting the tubers in 
the open ground in April was sufficient, 
or even to treat them as annuals, by 
sowing for the supply every season, and 
oerhaps this is enough in some places, 
but the results of such a system must 
only be viewed at a distance. 
When the plants have attained the 
height of a foot, stakes should be placed 
to them that they may not receive injury 
from the wind, and, as they grow, atten¬ 
tion should be given to the removal of 
all superfluous shoots that may spring 
from the bottom, and it is also advisable 
to thin the flowering branches near the 
top of the stem before they become 
large, tying out those which are allowed 
to remain, that light and air may be ad¬ 
mitted to the interior of .the plants; this 
will occupy the greater part of the sum¬ 
mer, and in August the first flowers 
may be expected, from which time un¬ 
ceasing attention will be required to the 
thinning of blossom buds, tying and 
loosening of ties, watering, trapping of 
insects, and shading the flowers. The 
first-mentioned operation should be per¬ 
formed when and whenever a more pro¬ 
mising bud than usual makes its appear¬ 
ance, "allowing the whole support of the 
branch from which it springs to be de¬ 
voted to its sole use, as any rivalry be¬ 
tween two or more flowers is sure to 
terminate in disadvantage to the whole 
of them; indeed it is sometimes found 
necessary to reduce the number over 
the entire plant, in order to give strength 
and size to the remaining flowers. W a- 
tering is an important aid at this period, 
and must not be ' neglected ; to save a 
considerable amount of trouble it is ad¬ 
visable to cover the ground, for the space 
