Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/105

Rh grown in the same way as the Ixia and Sparaxis. The best varieties, requiring shelter in winter, are M. edulis, M. lineata, M. exaltata, M. hicolor, M. Collina, M. papilionacea, M. polystachys, M. viscaria.

.&mdash;The Chinese primrose, P. prenitens, is a great favorite for winter and spring display, and there are several remarkably fine varieties, both single and double, in the market, those of the last named section being true florist’s flowers, with names and histories, and fixed characters. The single kinds are the easier to manage, as we raise them from seed, and when they have flowered throw them away, whereas the double varieties have to be grown from divisions of the stool, and it is a matter of very nice management to make stock or to grow fine specimens. We will begin with the single kinds, which anybody can grow who will take care to secure a supply of first-rate seed to begin with.

To insure a continuous display throughout the winter, make two sowings of seed; the first sowing the last week in May or the first week in June, and the second towards the end of August. The first batch of plants will commence flowering: in November, and the second early in January, unless the first flower-buds are nipped out, and in that case the time of their coming into flower will be delayed for a month or six weeks. Sow the seed in five-inch pots, previously prepared by draining them efficiently, and then filling them with a light rich com- post. Make the surface of the soil perfectly level, to prevent the possibility of any portion of the seed being buried too deep. Water the soil moderately, previous to sowing the seed, to prevent the necessity of a heavy application of water afterwards. The seed should be covered as lightly as possible with fine sandy soil, and the pots then placed in a pit or house, the temperature of which is maintained at about 60°. It is also important to sow the seed rather thinly, to prevent overcrowding; before the young plants are strong enough to prick off. Instead of potting the plants off separately in small pots, when they are removed from the seed-pot, they should be pricked off into seed-pans, and be at once returned to a warm pit or house to promote a free growth. In the course of a fortnight remove them to a cold frame, which will be the most suitable quarter for them until the autumn. When strong and well established, pot off singly into three-inch pots, and stand them upon a bed