Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/173

163 out frost, but a rougher structure may be turned to equally good account if it is weathertigbt and airy. Tbe three greatest enemies of ericas are darkness, damp, and artificial heat.

The greenhouse heaths may be divided into two classesthe hard-wooded slow-growing kinds, which are fairly represented by E. ventricosa, and the soft-wooded free-growing kinds, equally well represented by E. hyemalis. The species and varieties of the first section are mostly summer flowering plants, and those of the second section mostly flower in winter. The general management of both groups is the same, but the particular management differs in accordance with their difference of habit.

The bulk of the hard-wooded kinds flower in May, June, and July, and as soon as they go out of flower they should be taken out of doors and placed in the full sun, on a bed of coal ashes. The soft wooded kinds may be taken out of doors earlier. There must, however, be no haste in taking them into the open air, especially if they are grown in a pit or a house by themselves, or in company with such things as Aphelexis, Hedaromas, and Eriostemons, where they can have a continued circulation of air around them, and full exposure to the light. In wet seasons they should be kept entirely under glass. When kept in-doors through the summer, tilt the lights both at the back and the front if in a pit, and if in a house the front or side lights must be thrown as wide open as possible, and the top ventilators opened when there is no danger of the wet reaching the plants in sufficient quantities to saturate the soil, or wet it deep enough to deceive the cultivator. Otherwise the plants will receive considerable benefit from genial showers. The mechanical operations, such as preparing the soil, potting, and so forth, must be carefully performed, and particular attention must be paid to the provisions for drainage. The peat must be of a tough texture, not at all greasy, free from moss, and if of a bright brown colour all the better. The sand must be sharp and free from lime and iron; the cleanest siliceous grit imaginable. The plants must be potted quite firm and watered with the utmost regularity; if dry for a day or two and then supplied with an extra dose to make up for lost time you will soon be rid of the trouble of keeping them. At every watering the whole body of the soil in the pot should be wetted, and there should be no more given until it is nearly dry again. In case you do find a pot dry and capable of