GLOXINIA

gloxinia, a charming decorative plant, botanically a species of _sinningia_ (_s. speciosa_), a member of the natural order gesneraceae and a native of brazil. the species has given rise under cultivation to numerous forms showing a wonderful variety of colour, and hybrid forms have also been obtained between these and other species of _sinningia_. a good strain of seed will produce many superb and charmingly coloured varieties, and if sown early in spring, in a temperature of 65 deg. at night, they may be shifted on into 6-in. pots, and in these may be flowered during the summer. the bulbs are kept at rest through the winter in dry sand, in a temperature of 50 deg., and to yield a succession should be started at intervals, say at the end of february and the beginning of april. to prolong the blooming season, use weak manure water when the flower-buds show themselves.