The Garden Under Glass

THE BEST FLOWERING PLANTS 95 which they are only too much addicted. Plants which do not seem to be breaking well may have the points pinched out to induce them to become bushy plants. The correct treatment for old plants is to cut the growth hard back af ter they have flowered and to keep them well on the dry side until new growth pushes out. Then in September bring them in, shake nearly all the old soil from them, put them into such pots as will just accom-modate them and keep them in a cool house until January, when they may be moved into their flowering pots. Good turfy loam should form the base of the compost. Add to this plenty of leaf-soil, some broken cow manure, some mushroom manure, mortar rubble and a dusting of Peruvian guano. I like varieties whose petals overlap well, as they do not fall so quickly and give a better appearance to the plants. Well-grown plants should be smothered with flowers. POINSETTIA PULCHERRIMA To be precise, we should call this plant Euphorbia pulcherrima, but the one used is more generally known and understood. It is not largely grown by amateurs, nor is it one which can be whole-heartedly recommended to them as being likely to succeed well. The great difficulty with regard to it is rooting the cuttings. It is necessary that the pots be prepared before-hand, so that there may be no waste of time. Usually I have cut off the young growths with a slice of the old wood, dipped the exposed. cut in water and then plunged it into a pan of sharp sand. When three or four cuttings are made I insert them singly in 2-inch pots, water them immediately and when the water has drained away put them into a close, warm propagator, where they can be