44 •. THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE/ 



said against them as Aveedy and ephemeral things. Messrs. E. G. Hen- 

 derson offer fifteen varieties of distinct colours of this new race, which have 

 a corymbose style of growth altogether different from all other sections of 

 asters. The habit of this new race may be judged by the engraving on the 

 preceding -page. 



At page 5.5 of our volume for 1858 will be found a selection of annuals 

 in colours, which may prove useful just now to those who use this class of 

 plants in the way we have frequentlj' recommended, nameh', to precede 

 the bedders, and to be removed the moment they begin to show signs of 

 declining in beauty. The most showy bed we had last year was Iberis 

 Kermesina, a brilliant purplish crimson candytuft, which produces grand 

 heads of bloom, and continues in fine condition for at least six weeiis. 

 Suppose a ribbon of candytufts to be now sown, they will be in bloom by 

 the time that bedders are usually put out, and, while they last, cannot 

 possibly be surpassed for brilliancy. To give the bedders a shift and a 

 few weeks' more growth would allow of them being turned out in full 

 bloom, and if properly done, thej^ would not flag for an hour, and the ad- 

 vantage would be two sets of flowei's in succession on the same ground, 

 instead of one, and the avoidance of that probationary term between the 

 putting out of bedders and waiting for them to produce an effect. 



We have been much interested in the perusal of "The Gardening Book of 

 Annuals," by Mr. W. Thompson, seedsman, of Ipswich.--' Mr. Thompson has 

 been an ai-dent amateur of this class of pkmts, and has done much towards 

 rooting up the fraudulent system of renaming old varieties and the publi- 

 cation of spurious novelties. In this prettily got-up and well-arranged 

 work, every annual of merit is described in detail, with practical notes on 

 culture, and the special uses to Avhicli various kinds may be put. The 

 introductory essays on the general culture of hardy and half-hardy annuals 

 are as simple as plain English can make them, and comprise all that a be- 

 ginner needs to know, and much that adepts do not know. Mr. Thomp- 

 son does not forget to vindicate his favourites. He remarks upon the 

 inexpensiveness of annuals, the splendid effects which may be produced 

 by the use of certain kinds in masses, the individual beauty of many, the 

 indispensable excellence of some, the appropriateness of the dwarf and 

 trailing kinds on rockwork, and the comparatively short period required 

 to produce an effect, many of the species flowering in eight or ten weeks 

 from the time of sowing. When we have thus summed up as many of 

 their uses as we can think of, one more thought arises — that these ephe- 

 meras of the queendom of Flora strikingly illustrate the profusion with 

 which elegancies have been mingled with the utilities of the world. The 

 oak must grow for a century ere we can use its timber as ribs for a ship, 

 but from the dropping of a seed like a grain of dust, a few weeks' lapse 

 is sufficient to produce " a thing of beauty," which, though short-lived, 

 is, nevertheless, " a joy for ever." 



NOTES OP THE MONTH. 



Exhibitions. — Messrs. Cutbush and Son announce that tlieir annual exhibit 



tion of Hyacinths will take place at their Home JNursery, Hiijhgate, from the 



11th to the 23rd of March. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, the 12th, 



* Published, by Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., London. 



