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TJie Country GcntleinaiH s Magazine 



consequently, will require a little attention 

 in this respect. 



Agapanthus itvibcllatus (African Lily). — 

 Native of the Cape of Good Hope. This 

 plant may with safety be classed amongst 

 our collection of hardy herbaceous plants, in- 

 asmuch as it stands well through mild winters 

 without protection, but must receive the pro- 

 tection of a hand-light from cold snows and 

 frosts. The habit of the plant being distinct 

 from the ordinary forms of hardy herbaceous 

 vegetation, the following description will 

 suffice to convey some idea of this beautiful 

 Lily : ■ — The roots are thick, fleshy, and 

 fibrous, diverging from the base, of a kind of 

 herbaceous head or stalk ; from the same 

 head arises a cluster of leaves, surrounding 

 each other at the base ; thick, succulent, 

 about i8 inches long by about i inch wide; 

 dark green. The flower stems are round, 

 often from 2 to 3 feet high, on the top of 

 which is a "large umbel of blue flowers 

 inclosed in a sheath, which opens into 

 two parts. The flowers are large and 

 numerous, of a bright blue colour ; they 

 bloom about the beginning of September, and 

 continue until cut down by frost. If lifted 

 into a cool greenhouse before being injured 

 by the cold autuiim storms, they will continue 

 in bloom until Christmas, and make a grand 



addition to our list of winter blooming plants 

 For propagating purposes it is best treated 

 as a pot-plant, and is increased by division. 

 When divided, each pari should be planted 

 into a separate pot filled with light rich sandy 

 soil, and placed in a shady situation. This 

 may be done any time during spring, giving 

 very little water until they have made new 

 roots. When fully established they may be 

 planted out; theymakeuseful succession plants 

 for the flower garden, or sub-tropical garden ; 

 indeed, no large establishment should be 

 Avithout them. The white and fol.-var. varie- 

 ties are very fine, but succeed best as pot- 

 plants. 



Agathcea ccelestis and its fol.-var. are lovely 

 mixed-border, or flower-garden plants. I be- 

 lieve the species is from the Cape of Good 

 Hope. Flowers blue ; about i foot high ; 

 under favourable circumstances, flowers pro- 

 fusely through the summer months, but will 

 not succeed in a cold, damp, or shady situation. 



Agrimonia Eupatoria (Common Agrimony), 

 is a well-known native herb, scarcely worth 

 naming for its beauty, but I wish to draw at- 

 tention to its variety — odorata fol. var. — 

 which, particularly in the spring, is a very- 

 attractive border plant. There are several 

 other species equally hardy, but not so beau- 

 tiful. — Robert .BiiUen. 



SWEET-SMELLING FLOWERS. 



' Flower gardens should be sweet and luxuriant, and not hard and scentless imitations of art."— Loikalr. 



FOR the illustration of the accompanying 

 beautiful bouquet of " old-fashioned 

 sweet-smelling flowers " we are indebted to 

 Messrs J. C. Wheeler & Son, of Gloucester. 

 These gentlemen offered a prize at the Royal 

 Horticultural Society's Exhibition, held at 

 Birmingham, for flowers remarkable for their 

 sweetness,. The call, however, was not re- 

 sponded to in the manner it deserved ; but 

 we trust this energetic firm will not be dig- 

 heartened by the result of this first attempt 



to increase the culture of these odoriferous 

 plants ; we would rather suggest to them, and 

 to the committees of local exhibitions, to 

 make a speciality of these things in their 

 future schedules. Independently, however, of 

 this stimulus to the cultivation and exhibi- 

 tion of these plants, I wish specially to im- 

 press the minds of my amateur readers with 

 the merits of odoriferous plants. It may be 

 very " old-fashioned," but I am inclined to 

 think, with Lothair, that it is the only suitable 



