Page:The Amateur's Greenhouse and Conservatory.djvu/92

84 after flowering dies. In the cultivation of this fine plant the principal matter of importance is to guard against giving it the slightest check at any stage of its growth, the roots being of delicate texture, and having no power of recovery from injury. In February sow the seed singly in small pots filled with a mixture of three parts powdery peat and one part sand, and place in the coolest part of a stove, or the very warmest corner of the greenhouse. When the plants have made their third joint shift into forty-eight size using the same soil as before but in a rather lumpy state. When the roots have fairly filled the pots the plants must be put out on a border in a cool conservatory in a position where they will enjoy abundance of sunshine. The border should be prepared by opening a trench two feet deep, laying at the bottom a bed of small empty flowerpots placed bottom upwards on a similar bed of cheap tunnel-shaped drain pipes, and filling up with a mixture of the very best turfy peat and a fifth part sand. In this plant carefully, leaving the collar of every plant a little above the level. Water cautiously, keeping the roots always moist but never wet, and train out the growths from the first to a light trellis a foot from the glass. One plant will, in most cases, be sufficient for an ordinary conservatory. If grown in a pot a very large one must be chosen, and the plant put into it at one shift from forty-eight size, as it will not bear frequent disturbance of the roots.

.&mdash;The lovely C. Persicum has become one of the most popular plants of its class within the past few years in consequence of the improved method of cultivation we initiated in 1863, when the “rapid culture” system was announced in the “Garden Oracle.” Previously, it had been customary with growers to “dry off” the corms, and in so doing dry half the life out of them, but we pointed out the folly of this procedure, and those who acted on our advice made such wondrous displays of cyclamens at the horticultural exhibitions in London that the slower class of gardeners were at last convinced. The instructions that follow are few but sufficient; those who will follow them faithfully will have good reason to rejoice in due time.

The only safe way to begin is with the best seed that can be obtained. Cyclamens may be increased by division of the corms (or bulbs), but it is a difficult process and we should