Varieties For Forcing

Admiral Napier; Alba multiflora; and Washington, for earliest; Bella; Gauntlet; Grand Duke; Commodore; Lord Mayor; King Rufus; and Madeline, for succession.

Liaising Varieties

Captain Thurtell, one of the most successful improvers of this flower, gives these directions: -

"First. Destroy every bad shaped (or elongated) under petalled flower in your possession.

"Secondly. Impregnate (if possible) every flower yourself, the moment it is ready to receive the farina, and thus effectually prevent the effects of the bee. But so long as you allow bad shaped flowers to remain in your house, you can never calculate on impregnating with any certainty; and those who attend to colour in preference to shape, will have to retrace their steps. Captain Thurtell never raised a good flower until he attended rigidly to the above rules." • See Hybridizing.

Sow in July. The seedlings soon appear; when with four leaves, besides the seed leaves, pot into 60's; keep in warm green-house. In April, shift into 32's. In June, plunge the pots in a warm border. At the close of September, return to the green-house. They will bloom in the winter or spring.

Soil

The best compost for growing Pelargoniums is half sandy loam and half leaf-mould. The best manure is liquid, made of sheep's dung. See Liquid Manure.

Propagation. By Cuttings

Take the cuttings in mid-July, and plant these in an open border exposed to the sun.

"In about six weeks," says Mr. Cat-leugh, the florist, of Hans Place, Chelsea, "the cuttings will be sufficiently rooted to remove, and I pot them into sixty-sized pots. To prevent the worms getting into the pots, they are placed upon a temporary stage, and allowed to remain in a shady situation about three weeks, by which time the plants will be well established, and bear removing to a more exposed spot, where, under the influence of the sun and air, the wood will attain a necessary degree of hardness. Here they remain until taken into the house for the winter, which is generally done about the end of September, before danger arises from frost. To make them compact and bushy, stop them at the third or fourth joint, and shift them into forty-eight sized pots, mixing a little turfy loam and sand with the compost, to allow the water to pass freely through the soil; give but little air during eight or ten days, the plants will be then reestablished, and afterwards as much air may be given as the state of the atmosphere will permit, until the beginning of December. The side lights must be kept closed during the prevalence of cold winds. The pots by this time will be well filled with roots, and the plants will require shifting into thirty-two sized pots.

The bone dust which is now added must be used with caution; being of a drying nature, it is not used near the surface of the soil; the shoots are again stopped at the third joint, the house is kept at a temperature of 45° Fahrenheit for about ten days, and then allowed to fall to 40° or 42°, at which it is kept. The flues are damped two or three times every night to prevent the air from becoming too dry, and a little top air is admitted whenever the weather is sufficiently favourable. About the middle of February those plants, which are intended to be large specimen plants are shifted again into twenty-four sized pots; those of vigorous growth will require a size larger. A small stick is now put to each stem to train them into uniform and wellshaped plants. In the beginning of April, when fires are discontinued, the plants are syringed over the top three times a week; this is done about four o'clock, at the time the house is closed, and continued during three or four weeks. The house is well damped every evening at the bottom, and the top sashes opened the first thing in the morning, to allow the damp air to escape, and during the day all the air is admitted that can be given with safety.

The plants when beginning to bloom are freely watered, and protected from the scorching rays of the sun during the middle of the day by means of canvas, and are thus retained in blossom a much longer time than would be possible if this precaution were omitted. When the plants are housed the decayed leaves are removed, and whenever the green fly makes its appearance, the house is well fumigated: to do this effectually, it must be performed when the plants are in a dry state, and they must be well watered the day following. When the flowering is over, the plants are exposed for about a fortnight to the sun and air, to harden the wood before being cut down. Those plants which are intended as specimen plants the second season after heading down, are placed in a sheltered situation, when little water is given, and as soon as the new shoots are an inch long are repotted into pots from one to two sizes smaller, the old soil is shaken from the roots, and good drainage given. The plants thus treated are kept in better health during the winter, from having less soil about their roots. When repotted they are placed upon a stage in a shady situation, removed into the house at the proper time, and undergo the same treatment the second winter as described for the first.

When those plants which are intended for exhibition begin to show their bloom they receive additional attention, a little liquid manure is occasionally given, they are no longer syringed over the top, bees are kept out of the house by means of gauze blinds, every precaution is taken to preserve their beauty, and they are never allowed to flag from exposure to the sun or want of water. Every grower should begin early to train his plants for exhibition; when the shoots are young and tractable any direction may be given to the stems; a uniform and handsome appearance will arise from the practice, and the plants will require fewer supports and less pulling about at the time they receive their final dressing. The flowers should be so arranged as to present an equal distribution of bloom over the leaf of the plant, to effect which the stems must be secured to small willow twigs." - Gard. Chron.