240 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



eyes that get lost as it were in the mass of colour. Of the varieties 

 of speciosa, I shall put down E. Gr. Henderson and Son's Indigo 

 Blue and spectabilis, as well deserving notice. The first has rather 

 a large eye, but the ground colour is so deep and pure that we can 

 afford to put up with the eye. The latter has more the colour of 

 the old speciosa, but the flowers are much larger, and the habit of 

 both kinds is very compact, and they are tremendous bloomers. It 

 seems almost absurd to grow the old form when we compare the 

 fine rich colour and compact habits of these with it. The best of the 

 azure blues that I have seen, and I believe I have seen them all, is 

 one called Blue King, for many years grown at the Crystal Palace. 

 Mr. Bull is sending this out now. It has a very small eye, not per- 

 ceptible at a distance. Though the colour is what is termed azure, 

 it is very bright and clear, quite distinct from those which have a 

 large proportion of indigo in the composition of the flowers. Ano- 

 ther good one which Mr. Bull has is named Painter. This has a 

 large proportion of white in the centre, but the colours do not run 

 into each other, the markings being sharp and definite. Another 

 good variety of the latter class is Little Gem, sent out by Messrs. 

 Lawson and Son this last spring. The centre of the flower is pure 

 white, with deep blue margin. Trentliam Blue, sent out by Messrs. 

 Veitch and Sons, Chelsea, is good, the habit being vigorous, thus 

 insuring a continuous succession of bloom throughout the summer. 

 The flowers large, and of a fine blue colour. This is said to be par- 

 ticularly hardy, and able to live in a cold frame through the winter. 

 I am not able to say anything upon this point, for my experience of 

 it does not extend through a winter yet. These are all good, and 

 the selection is sufficiently large for the present. The white ones 

 are by no means good. They are too weedy, and their appearance is 

 weak and unsatisfactory. Messrs. Henderson and Son have some 

 grand things amongst their new ones in the Pumila section, of which 

 Megans and Turquoise are about the best that are offered for sale at 

 present. The former is rather deeper in colour than the latter, both 

 being perfectly distinct. This section is invaluable for forming 

 divisional lines, where a compact dwarf-growing plant is required. 

 Some of the new kinds that I have seen in the possession of this 

 firm have flowers larger in size than the above-mentioned, and one or 

 two of the varieties have bright rose-coloured flowers. These are 

 all easy enough to propagate, but the difficulty in dry seasons like 

 this is to get cuttings, unless a little special care is taken with a few 

 plants. A good plan will be to go round the beds, and select a few 

 of the strongest plants, one here, and one a little further on, so that 

 no gap is made, and then cut the flower-spikes off, and give them 

 plenty of water to encourage the production of young growths. A 

 few plants ought to be planted in a corner by themselves for the 

 purpose of propagation, and then the flowers can be removed without 

 making a gap in the flower-garden. I should recommend the imme- 

 diate purchase of any new ones it is intended to propagate. The 

 flowers should be removed, and the plants shifted into five or six inch 

 pots, in rich soil. There will be no difficulty, by this plan, in getting 

 an abundance of cuttings. Though scarcely within the province of 



