THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 159 



warmth if available ; but failing that, a warm corner of the greenhouse will do. It 

 is only a question of getting the seed to vegetate a few days sooner, for the pots 

 would have to be brought out of the heat into the greenhouse directly they are up, 

 and formed the rough leaf, and placed where they will be fully exposed to the light 

 and air, that is, after they have been in the greenhouse a few days, and had the 

 advantage of a snug corner. To bring the young plants out of a close, moist heat, 

 and place them in an airy position in the greenhouse, without undergoing a slight 

 hardening process, would do them irreparable injury. The next question is that of 

 training, which can be done without employing expensive wire trellis. We like 

 trellises well enough for indoor work, but for this way of growing these plants out 

 of doors, we prefer the common pea-sticks. For this purpose we select moderately 

 stout sticks, about four feet high, and trim away all the small spray, and insert 

 them round the edges of the pots, and one or two in the middle ; by putting them to 

 the plants before they get entangled, and paying a little attention to the training, so 

 that every portion of the framework is covered, they make grand plants for the 

 purpose you require them. Those who have not seen them grown this way little 

 imagine the beautiful appearance they present ; they do best in a rather sheltered 

 position when out of doors. "When the pots begin to fill with roots, they must have 

 abundance of water ; on no account must this be neglected, for if allowed to get dry 

 a few times, the plants will get smothered with red spider, but if they are regularly 

 attended to in this respect, there will not be much fear of being troubled with many 

 insects. A dose of manure-water once a week will be highly advantageous after 

 the plants begin flowering, more especially towards the latter end of the summer, 

 when the soil is beginning to get exhausted. It is hardly necessary for us to say 

 that the plants must be brought out of doors as soon as the danger of frost is over, 

 for it is an essential point in their culture to have as much of the growth made in 

 the open air as possible. We have said all that is necessary upon the cultural points, 

 and as regards the best sorts adapted for the purpose, you can have plenty of choice. 

 Ijpomea coccinea, scarlet ; I. hederacea superha, blue and white ; I. hederaeea alba, 

 white ; I. hederacea atroviolacea, dark violet ; I. limbata elegantissima, dark 

 purple and white, fine ; I, Quaynoclit, scarlet ; are all first-rate for the purpose, and 

 you can please yourself whether you grow each kind separately, or mix several 

 colours together ; they have a charming effect either way. 



Bed op Larkspurs. — W. G. M. —To get a good display of these lovely flowers 

 give the bed a good dressing of rotten manure, dig it up deeply, and after making 

 the surface in a fit condition for the reception of the seeds, sow in shallow drills a 

 foot apart, and as you will not require the plants to be nearer than six inches from 

 plant to plant, sow thinly to prevent the seed from being wasted ; or, if you prefer 

 doing so, you can sow in shallow boxes or pans, and then prick the plants out into 

 the bed directly they are large enough, choosing a dull day for the purpose. The 

 last method is, perhaps, the best, for it makes the most of the seed. You should not 

 plant them in a bed which enters into a design, for they are too short-lived, but for 

 a separate bed, which can be filled with something else as soon as they are over, they 

 are grand. A more beautiful sight cannot be well imagined, when they are grown 

 in good soil, than a bed of difl'erent kinds judiciously mixed, so as all the colours 

 blend harmoniously together. The Hi/acinth Jioioered, divarf stock floicered^ tall 

 stock Jloioered, and the German hrancTiing in its several colours are all good. 



Basket Plants for Coxservatory. — Subscriber. — Fill your baskets with 

 fibry loam, leaf-mould, and a little decayed manure, and turn your plants out of 

 the small pots in which they are growing, and plant them firmly in the baskets. It 

 is, as you say, much the best to grow the plants to a nice size before turning out, 

 instead of planting them in the basket from the cutting-pots. In giving you a 

 selection of plants suitable for suspending baskets, we may as well observe that 

 almost any of the bedding plants do well for the centre, more especially geraniums, 

 heliotropes, and fuchsias, can be grown to droop over the edges, or trained pyra- 

 midally up the centre, Matirandyas, Lophosperniuni in variety, Saxifraga sarmentosa^ 

 Is ierembergia gracilis, Convolvulus man r it aniens, Tropceolum Lobbianum elegans, 

 T. Triomphe de Hyris, Cereus Jlagelliformisy Mikania scandens, Calempelis scabray 

 Kennedya prostrata, are fine for hanging over the sides. A beautiful eff"ect can be 

 made by placing alternately round the sides nice little tufts of Isolepis gracilis 

 and roa trivialis argentea. Iresene Serhstii makes a beautiful small basket plant 

 when the branches are brought down and tied underneath. Achimenes treated the 



