Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/134

126 delicate, and a light compost should he employed; one consisting of equal parts, fibrous loam, turfy peat, and leaf-mould, and a moderate quantity of silver sand will suit them admirably. The pots must be clean and well drained, and the tubers buried about two inches below the surface. The size of the pot must be regulated by the number of the tubers put in each; one should be put in five-inch, two in six-inch, three in eight-inch, and four in nine-inch pots, and the last mentioned is the largest size that should be employed. The soil must be kept dry until they start into growth, and then sufficient water applied to make the soil just moist, and no more; for very little water will be required until they have made considerable progress. After February, when the trellis is covered with foliage, more liberal supplies must be given, and an occasional dose of weak liquid manure will be of considerable service.

The trellis should be fixed in the pots when the tubers are newly potted, but if there are any reasons for not doing so, they must be fixed in their proper position before the young growth has attained a considerable length; otherwise there is a great danger of its becoming entangled, and probably it will be seriously injured.



The form of the trellis must he left to the taste of each cultivator, and it is of little consequence in which way the growth is trained, provided that it is nicely regulated, and not allowed to run together in an inextricable mass. The subjoined figures will explain themselves. A balloon is, perhaps, the most desirable; and when covered with the cheerful green foliage, and dotted with the scarlet and yellow flowers, the effect is most satisfactory. Flat trellises are very well in their way, and are the most suitable for windows or other positions where