was there in them to fire a florist's heart with rapture and enthusiasm? And I hope, for the sake of true horticulture and its glorious past, all the poetry has not yet been, nor is it yet likely to be, pressed out of it, though rapidly ceasing to be a distinct branch of horticulture. At best, the double flowers were but malformations without pretensions to regularity of petal to give the desideratum of form, without harmony and distinctness of colours-flowers that would effectually puzzle the most competent judge to compile for them the points of quality by which he would decide on their merits. With but very few exceptions they did not yield that profuseness and continuity of bloom that are found in the single kinds. They were neither brilliant nor showy, and their utility as decorative plants was considerably over-stated. Let them perish! and may no resurrection ever rend the grave to which they will be consigned.

And then those hateful-looking, loose, irregularly-shaped, easy-flowering varieties, without a single pretension to form, but with a great deal too much substance, generally having the colours as inharmoniously blended together as to be quite confused, as if Nature had for once been guilty of a bad piece of artistic execution. In fact, the "beauty" of many of them was as little discernible as that of a toad would be whose skin had become slightly suffused with a violet hue. They were absolutely worthless as decorative plants, nor were they suitable for bedding-purposes. They have been well described by M. Ch. Naudin as "monsters, which the prevailing fashion regards as so many marks of perfection."

For bedding-purposes (and used as bedding plants, what can be much more attractive when judiciously grouped?) nothing can be better than a well-formed pure white flower of the P. nyctaginiflora species, and a good purple of the P. violacea species, and to these can be added the bright crimson variety with white throat like Countess of Ellesmere, and the parti-coloured variety Madame Ferguson. I remember a few years ago being much struck with the beauty of a Petunia-bed at Elsenham Hall Gardens, Bishop Stortford. The bed was formed of four lobes, each lobe being planted with a variety in the way of the foregoing colours, except that instead of using the variety with the white throat, there was a seedling bright crimson flower, something like Purple Prince, but having a throat heavily pencilled with clear violet. Though the weather had been, and still was excessively dry, the bed was a "blaze of floral beauty," and the afternoon sun beaming on it, brought out sharply and vividly the individuality of colour of each lobe of the bed, and at the same time merged this individuality into a blended harmony of a most agreeable character. From the intercrossing of the two species alluded to above, which can be done most readily, have been derived hybrids as fertile as their parents. Of these hybrids M. Ch. Naudin has observed, "In the first generation all these hybrids are alike; in the second they vary in the most remarkable degree, some reverting to the white species, others to the purple, and a large residue showing all the shades between the two. When these varieties are fecundated artificially by each other, as is the practice of some gardeners, we obtain a third generation still more parti-coloured; and continuing the process we arrive at (the most) extreme varieties." The fancy of the hybridiser will actuate him to select what form he pleases as his models, whether symmetrical in form and harmonious in colour on the one hand, or grotesque in outline and ill-defined and confused in colour on the other; but the variations that are to find a place in the garden should at least partake of the characteristics generally considered essential by florists-form, colour, substance, distinctness, &c., and not be hideous and unlovely formations merely, that bave neither attractiveness nor utility to recommend them. To these essential points must be superadded by the hybridiser, short, stiff, and yet vigorous

habit; a propensity to flower freely; and as far as it can be obtained, a hardiness that can sustain to some extent, when bedded out of doors, the effects of a cold and inclement period that will occasionally bring up the rear of an English summer.

Quo.

THE ALBERT SPROUT.

The

THIS hardy Sprout promises to be a very useful addition to the kitchen garden. It is a hybrid between the Drumhead Savoy and the Brussels Sprouts, the head manifesting most unmistakeably the parentage of the former. Sprouts, which are very large and a little blistered like a Savoy, are freely produced on the stalk, but as seen by me, not so near to the base of the stalk as in the Brussels Sprouts. Its unusual lateness is its great recommendation, being fit for use when other Sprouts are over.

T. K.

ON PROPAGATING CENTAUREA CANDIDISSIMA.

AT the request of a lady who was on a visit here last autumn I send the following account of the way in which I propagate this Centaurea-a plant with which I was very successful last summer; and I hope that it may prove satisfactory to the readers of the FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST to know that this favourite plant may be increased with some degree of certainty, for I hear of many failures in propagating it in different quarters, instead of a good stock having been secured for planting out in May.

My own stock was but small, till I began to grow it in the same way as I have done Cineraria maritima for some time.

In May I plant a few of the strongest plants in some by-place for the purpose of furnishing cuttings, taking care that the soil is well enriched either with good rotten dung or leaf mould. By July the plants will be large enough to be used for making cuttings, which are made as follows:

I take up the plants and cut them to pieces with a sharp knife; every piece with a leaf and an eye will make a plant. After having been prepared, the cuttings are laid on the potting-bench for a few hours that the wounds made by the knife may dry, and, consequently, that the danger of damping-off may be diminished, for the shoots of the Centaurea are very full of juices; on no account, however, should the cuttings be exposed to the sun, as they would flag and never recover. As soon as the wounds made by the knife have somewhat dried over, the cuttings should be pricked out under hand-glasses in a light rich compost, containing plenty of coarse sand. I prefer road sand and leaf mould in about equal quantities. The soil having been well mixed, and sifted through a rather fine sieve, some open spot should be selected for the hand-glasses, so that these may receive all the sun possible-by no means should they be shaded.

Immediately after the cuttings have been inserted they should be well watered, and the glasses ought then to be put on and kept close for some time. Very little water should be given to the cuttings till they begin to grow, which they will do in about six weeks. They should then be potted-off, using pots of different sizes, according to the quantity of roots which they may possess; some will require 48's, others small 60's but too large pots should not be used to winter them in. The cuttings after having been potted should be placed either in a close pit or frame till they have emitted fresh roots, and about the beginning of October they should be removed to the warmest and driest

horticulture should endeavour to do their best to make the scheme a great national and horticultural success, and to show the superiority of English horticulture over that of any continental nation.

ON WASPS, FLIES, AND EARWIGS.

EVERY one knows that wasps have been scarce and flies plentiful during the last hot and dry season; and as heat favours the increase of both pests, it may be worth while to inquire why wasps have been scarce. It was not owing to the scarcity of queens to found colonies, for plenty of them were bred in the previous season, but rather to the fact of their having been cut off during the severe weather in March; and thus the old saying has failed, “A Plum year is a wasp year." Although, however, the fruit escaped the attacks of wasps, it has been much damaged by flies and earwigs. Wasps act the swallow's part among insects, and thus their scarcity may account in some degree for the abundance of both flies and earwigs. It is somewhat surprising to see how glibly a wasp can catch a fly-not by a crafty net like a spider, but by snapping it up with its mandibles. It will then carry off its prey with a clean swoop. In fact, wasps are hawking insects, and perhaps devour more flies and their eggs than large dragon flies, which are few in number, and only fly about late in the autumn.

Respecting earwigs, I am but little acquainted with their history, but the young are found mixed up with the old, are of a whitish colour, and increase in size with age, which shows that they are bred from eggs. I may note that all insects are of their full size when they come from the chrysalis; the slight difference in size between some of the same species is owing to that of the grubs before they passed into the pupa state. This reminds me that lately a friend sent me a large green grub of the death's-head moth, which fed on Ash leaves, and soon became a chrysalis. I kept it among soil in a flower-pot, covered with gauze, in a hothouse; yet though buried in the soil, it always managed to get to the surface. In about five weeks it was hatched, and is now before me, a fine specimen of that most singular-looking moth, and when teazed it rises up and squeaks like a bat.

To return to earwigs: They have wings, but I never observed one fly, nor make the least attempt to use its wings when falling down. They hide, many together, during the day; but are also found in pairs or alone. It is at night that they do most damage, both to fruit and flowers. Various plans have been tried to destroy them, and perhaps the old one of placing hollow bean stems amongst wall trees, and in the morning shaking the pests out into a pot of water, is the best. I need hardly notice that of placing a small flower-pot on the top of a Dahlia stake, for that is well known.

Cossey Park.

J. WIGHTON.

NEW BOOK.

Les Plantes à Feuilles Ornementales en pleine Terre-Botanique et Culture. Par COMTE LÉONCE DE LAMBERTYE. Paris: Auguste Goin, Rue des Ecoles, 82. Part I. Solanum.

THIS, as its title implies, is the first part of a work on those plants with ornamental foliage which are so extensively and successfully employed in the public gardens of Paris. For the most part natives of tropical or semi-tropical climates, they present a rich luxuriance of growth but rarely found in the vegetation of more northern lands, and this, combined with the novelty of

Clianthus Dampieri flore albo rubro-marginata, another of Messrs. E. G. Henderson's plants, and sent out by them under the name of marginata elegans, forms the subject of the second illustration. The flowers being pure white distinctly bordered with bright scarlet, will form a splendid contrast with those of the now well-known species, which in other respects they resemble.

Royal Vineyard Grape is represented in the third plate. As this variety has been frequently exhibited by Mr. Williams, of Holloway, it is now tolerably well known; its merit, moreover, has been marked by a first-class certificate from the Fruit Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society. The thinness of the skin of the berries, and the fine Sweetwater flavour are two important claims to favour.

In the December part of the same publication we find

Oncidium bicallosum, originally figured in the "Botanical Register" in 1843. By some this has been considered a mere variety of O. pachyphyllum, and whilst M. Lemaire admits that the two come very near to each other, he thinks that the representations hitherto given have not done justice to its merits, and that even now the plant is not so general in collections as it should be, especially when the long duration of its flowers is taken into consideration.

Lilium formosum forms the subject of the second plate, and a full botanical description of the plant is given from the bulbs sent from Japan, to M. Verschaffelt, in 1864. The editor justly complains of the confusion which at present exists among the Liliums, and, therefore, cannot say whether the plant is a species, variety, or hybrid.

Cockade Asters, of the beautiful varieties raised by M. F. Haage, of Erfurt, are represented in the next plate; and in the fourth, Camellia Contessa Pasolini, raised by M. Antonelli, of Genoa, somewhat irregular in the form of its petals and in their imbrication, rose, shading off to white at the circumference. The leaves are small and lanceolate, and the plant tall.

A portrait of the late King of the Belgians is the last illustration in this part.

L'HORTICULTEUR FRANÇAIS for January, has a large plate of Pandanus Porteanus, introduced by M. Porte from the Philippines. The plant is of dwarf and elegant habit, and is said to be hardier than the other species. The leaves are long and narrow, from 2 to 3 feet in length, and less than an inch in breadth, gracefully curving downwards, glaucous on the under side, and set with white spines along the midrib, the upper side dark green.

"Flore des Serres," of which we have several beautifully illustrated parts, and some other publications, we must reserve till next month.

OUR MONTHLY

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. - The arrangements for the spring and summer Exhibitions have just been issued, and the following are the dates on which the Shows are to be held:-The first, for Camellias, Hyacinths, Tulips, Crocuses, Chinese Primulas, forced shrubs, &c., is to take place on the 15th of March; the second, for early Azaleas, Roses, Cinerarias, Auriculas, Cyclamens, &c., on the 12th of April; the third, for Stove and Greenhouse plants, Azaleas, Orchids, Pelargoniums, Roses in pots, &c., on the 3rd of May; and the Rose Show on the 28th of June. All these dates fall on a Thursday.

CHRONICLE.

In addition, there are to be Saturday Shows throughout the year, at which money prizes are offered for various subjects, according to the period of the season. At a Show to be held at the same time as the International Exhibition, special prizes are offered by his Grace the Duke of Buccleuch, Mr. W. Wilson Saunders, Lady Dorothy Nevill, Major Trevor Clarke, Dr. Hogg, Mr. G. F. Wilson, Mr. A. Scrutton, and the Proprietors of the "Gardeners' Chronicle," the Council, except in the last two cases, giving one-half the amount of the prizes so offered as a second prize.

end of the greenhouse or stove; if placed near the flue they will be much benefited by its proximity, as they suffer very much from damp during the winter. They then require little water, but when it is needed a good soaking should be given.

The Centaurea is a greater favourite with me than the Cineraria maritima, as it is more easily kept within bounds. I find that the Cineraria will not bear the knife without dying back; this spoils the effect of a good bed, as I experienced last autumn in the case of a bed filled with Amaranthus melancholicus, then Cineraria maritima, and Perilla nankinensis in the centre, the other side being the same. These were planted in strips, and the effect was very good and pleased every one till the Cineraria began to fail. This year I intend to use the Centaurea for the same purpose.

Elsenham Hall Gardens.

WILLIAM PLESTER.

THE PROPAGATION OF VERBENAS.

My design is not so much to develope any new method, as to give a prominence to what is well known to many, and yet may, perchance, be very acceptable to some. A good system or method is worthy of a wide propagation, and now-a-days preachers of all kinds are not required to declare so much what is new, original, or startling, as what is useful, to the purpose, and valuable.

The autumn propagation of Verbenas finds but few advocates, and is not generally adopted, except where necessity admits of no exception to its unyielding rules. The difficulty of autumn propagation lies in the great hazard attending the wintering of the plants. The method generally observed is to place a number of cuttings in 60-pots, using a soil in which there has been mingled a good quantity of coarse sand. In this they will root readily, and the path is smooth up to the time when these store pots have to be removed to their winter quarters. The position usually assigned them is a high shelf in a heated house, the shelf being so situated that the store pots can be close to the glass. They are watered very sparingly, are kept quite clean, have air on all occasions when it can be administered, and no drip is permitted to fall upon them. The great enemy mildew will attack them let them be wintered as they will, and this method is considered one of the best to moderate the ravages of this pest. How unsatisfactory such a method has proved to many a propagator the pages of the gardening publications have frequently attested. Many a man has looked over his stock at the beginning of March, and has marked with sorrow and disappointment how great an inroad decay has made among them. He loses his faith in the recognised formula which has been commended to him by many whose names are deserving of confidence; but he feels that he cannot stretch it to cover the experience gradually taking hold on him, that a new and more assuring method can be found and applied. This has been found, and, better still, applied with great success and the most cheering results. The operator, a gardener of considerable eminence in the north, shall develope his plan in his own words:" Early in August a quantity of each variety of Verbena that I intend to use is struck not in heat, but in cold frames, without putting them in either pots or boxes. A layer of half sand, half leaf mould, is laid over the surface of the frame. Into this are put the cuttings, which are selected from the shortest and least-drawn from round the sides of the beds. They are kept close through the day, and sometimes in calm warm evenings the sashes are entirely drawn off for a few hours. They root under such circumstances almost without making any growth, or without becoming drawn. When rooted they are pricked into pans 7 inches deep and 14 inches in diameter. A few