64 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
an old cucumber-bed is the best. The heat they require when 
sown, and until the second shifting, is about 65°, giving them as 
much air as is consistent with the state of the weather : in about 
ten days they will require a second shifting. A small quantity 
of well pulverized loam should be added to the compost, and the 
plants placed near to the glass ; the maximum heat should now be 
70°, in order to allow for a greater supply of air in the middle of 
the day. A little water may be given when necessary, after the 
second shift; if water is given when the plants are small, or when 
air cannot be admitted, it often causes them to rot off, and when¬ 
ever applied, it should be of the same temperature with the air in 
which the plants are growing. Between the second and third 
shifting the plants should have grown six or eight inches in height. 
At the third time of repotting, they should be placed in pots 
about nine or ten inches deep, in the bottom of which put a good 
layer of potsherds, then a layer of broken turf, and next the soil, 
which should be stronger than the last—about half good sound 
loam, and the other half well-rotted leaf-mould, or old dung : 
these should be well mixed, and the plants placed so low in the 
soil that the first or seed leaves may be not more than two inches 
above the rim of the pot. The plants are now in their most par¬ 
ticular stage of growth; they should be placed in a large pit, 
where a good supply of both bottom and surface heat can be com¬ 
manded, for if any reduction of either takes place, they imme¬ 
diately commence blooming, and consequently cease to grow; 
they should be half plunged, and kept about two feet apart, or 
more if there is room. From these pots they may be removed as 
soon as the roots reach the bottom, into the blooming pots, which 
should be as large as convenient to carry ; about 11 inches deep 
is the size I usually bloom them in ; in these place a good drain¬ 
age and turf as before—the soil now should be entirely loam ; 
place the plants as low as possible, without disturbing the roots 
more than can be avoided, observing to fill all the spaces between 
the ball and the side of the pot. They should now be returned 
to the pit till the flowers are most of them expanded ; then remove 
them to the conservatory or greenhouse. During the time they 
remain in flower they require a liberal supply of water, and a 
little liquid manure may be given with advantage about once a 
week. In growing Balsams, much depends on the choice of seed, 
as there are some of a very inferior description. Seed should 
always be saved from the most double varieties, and that which is 
