they are made, and not allowed to droop. Two or three inches apart, according to the bulk of the various sorts, is not too much to allow; for, if thicker, they are more apt to damp off and become drawn as soon as they begin to grow. A watering sufficient to wet the surface layer of sandy soil should be given at once. They now require to be carefully shaded from sunshine, kept shut up close by day when dry and breezy, taking off the shading as soon as the sun ceases to shine on the frame; and when the weather is mild, leave a little air on each light all night. They require to be kept from frost when it occurs by coverings of mats, or any other dry loose material, such as hay or straw. In about two months the cuttings will be struck; and when the weather is mild, the glass should then be drawn off every day, except when it is rain or very damp, when, of course, they are best kept on and shut down. Every appearance of damp or mould must be removed through the winter, when frost is severe and continuous; and when they are not in a place where a hot-water pipe can be used, it is best to keep them covered up so long as the frost continues. And in the event of their being subject to a few degrees of frost, the coverings should not be removed when it thaws till the plants have thawed too, and then the covering should be removed by degrees; and their exposure again to light and air should also be gradual. Those who have neither frame nor pit may strike Calceolarias under hand-glasses, and preserve them all winter in dry, sheltered spots, where there is no stagnant moisture, and where they can be covered up sufficiently during frost. And those who have merely a greenhouse without pit or frame accommodation, can strike them in pots or deep boxes in a shady part of the greenhouse, where the sun does not reach them till they are rooted. Calceolaria Ambassador and C. Havelock, as well as some of those similar in habit and constitution, are somewhat more difficult to manage than the yellows. On dry soils particularly they flower so freely that it is difficult to get cuttings from them; and the old plants being so much exhausted, they do not succeed very well when lifted late in the season. The best way to keep up a stock of these is to plant a reserve, and prevent their blooming. By such means they furnish plenty of cuttings by the middle or end of September, when they can be propagated either in the way recommended for the yellows, or each cutting may be put singly into small pots filled with light rich soil, with a little pure silver sand round the base of the cuttings. The pots should be plunged in a cold frame in ashes or sand. When well rooted in these small pots, shift into 3-inch pots, and in spring the same plants will bear topping again. They can also be propagated by leaving them on the parent plant, removing a few leaves round the stems, and cutting them half through with a knife, and then mould up with a compost of half leaf-mould and sand. When well rooted, they can be potted into 3-inch pots. This method is applicable only to strong growths, such as are produced by plants not allowed to bloom. Spring Management.—As in the striking of Calceolarias, so in their after management, various ways may be adopted, according to circumstances. When grown in beds or boxes, they generally thrive best after they are planted out, without ever having been put into small pots at all. What I would recommend, and have E adopted sometimes when suitable, in the absence of cold pits and frames, is to throw out trenches like those generally used for celery-beds, put 6 inches of rotten leaves in the bottom, and then 6 inches of light rich soil. Here the young plants, lifted with as little injury to their roots as possible, should be pricked out about the end of March, 6 inches apart each way. When all are planted, water well, and lay some trellis-work, or common stakes, across the trench, and cover with mats or canvas when cold weather renders it necessary. For the first fortnight after being transplanted they should be shaded through the day when the sun shines. Thus managed, they make fine strong plants with very little attention. As they grow they should be looked over at intervals and topped, so as to keep them dwarf and well furnished. About three weeks before they are to be planted out, a spade, or any other sharpedged tool, should be run along between the lines each way, cutting to the depth of 6 inches. This cuts off the roots of each plant from its fellow, checks them for the time, but causes them to make fresh roots nearer home; and the result is, that they lift with good balls, and scarcely receive any check when planted out. Should they droop when thus operated upon, give them a good soaking of water. Amateurs and others requiring small quantities of plants may adopt a similar plan to this by transplanting them into boxes 6 inches deep, prepared much the same as directed for the trench, and otherwise managing them in the same way. In this case they can be lifted into any outhouse, or even covered over outside in case of spring frosts. When from any cause the stock is not equal to the demand, the points of the young plants strike freely in March and April in a gentle heat; but autumn-struck plants are in all respects to be preferred. Soil most suitable for Calceolarias.-Like the Verbena, the Calceolaria requires a deep, rich, loamy soil to grow and flower it well throughout the season. They are very subject to die off in hot sandy soils, and at best do not bloom for any length of time. Tagetes signata pumila is the best substitute for Calceolarias on light sandy soils. Select List of Varieties most suitable for Beds.—Those marked * are best. * Ambassador, bronze crimson; the best of the crimsons, 1 foot. Amplexicaulis, lemon; fine for back lines and large beds, 14 foot. * Aurantia multiflora, orange yellow; extra fine, 1 foot. * * Aurea floribunda, orange yellow; suitable for damp localities, 1 foot. Canariensis, bright yellow; dwarf and dense habit; fine for small beds and dwarf lines; flowers well in dry soils, 9 inches. * Gaines' yellow, clear yellow; good, 15 inches. Havelock, bronze crimson, 15 inches. * Prince of Orange, orange brown; compact habit, 1 foot. CENTAUREA RAGUSINA-Silver Foliage, 1 to 1 foot.This beautiful silvery-foliaged plant ranks among the gems of its class. It is considered by some a difficult plant to propagate and winter. The way to manage it most successfully is to keep a set of plants in pots, and grow them outdoors all summer and autumn, and to house them before the wet and damp weather of late autumn sets in, by which time they are fine stately plants, some in 6-inch some in 8-inch pots, and sometimes larger specimen plants, as the case may be. To keep them in the best state for affording fine healthy cuttings in spring-which is the best time to strike it -they require to be kept in a dry airy house, and to be sparingly supplied with water, just sufficient to keep them from drooping. It is a plant very liable to suffer from damp in winter, if freely supplied with moisture. In spring each plant is found with a quantity of young shoots suitable for cuttings studded all round it. If these shoots are short, and without a bit of clear stem about a couple of inches long, the plants should be put into heat till they make a little growth. When ready, these side-shoots are cut off close to the main stem of the plant, and made into cuttings in the usual way. The pots or pans into which the cuttings are put should be well drained, and filled to within 3 inches of the top with equal parts leaf-mould, loam, and sand, and then filled up with pure sand. When the cuttings are put in, water well, and plunge them in bottom heat, where there is a temperature of 70°. Plunging is not absolutely necessary, although thus treated they root more quickly. They may be placed on a shelf in a vinery or pine-pit, and shaded only during very bright sunshine. During the time they are striking they must be kept moderately and regularly moist, but wet the foliage as little as possible. As soon as they have made roots about 2 inches long, they should be potted off into 3-inch pots; for if left till the roots extend more, they get broken off in shaking them out. They like light rich soil and a temperature of 60° after they are potted off, till the roots reach the sides and bottom of the pots; then they thrive best in a cool dry place. When large specimen plants are not to be kept over another summer in a large state, they may be cut up |