THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



71 



is a most beautiful object, and single 

 plants may be grown to a height of 

 three or four feet, or it may be kept 

 to a height of from six inches to a 

 foot by nipping out the tops, which 

 causes the plants to produce side 

 branches. When once it begins to 

 seed, its day is over— no stopping will 

 prevent it seeding ; and even if cut- 

 tings be struck then, they are worth- 

 less as plants. To make the most of 

 this truly fine bedder, then, it should 

 never be sown till the beginning of 

 April. It should be planted out 

 small, in a rich soil, which will give 

 it luxuriance ; and in a cool, moist 

 position, it will be in less haste to 

 flower, than in a hot, dry position. 

 But under any circumstances it can- 

 not be depended on to last beyond the 

 end of August, when it must be re- 

 placed with something else to con- 

 tinue the display to the end of the 

 season. 



The third plant we specified as 

 worthy of special attention, Cheno- 

 podium atriplicis, is also an old- 

 fashioned plant, the true value of 

 which has been only recently recog- 

 nized. This will grow to a height of 

 five feet, and if allowed to run to that 

 height is truly superb, though it will 

 generally be more useful if kept 

 dwarf by nipping out the points of 

 the leading shoots, so as to cause the 

 growth of a constant succession, and 

 a bushy habit. The beauty of the 

 plant consists in the rich carmine 

 hue of the powder which covers the 

 young leaves and stems ; but as the 

 leaves get old this powder disappears, 

 and the leaves then assume a dingy 

 brown or unpleasant green hue ; 

 hence, to keep up its beauty, frequent 

 pinching off of the points is essential. 

 These two spiuaceous plants may 

 be raised in precisely the same way as 

 described above for Perilla Nanki- 

 nensis, and the soil in the seed-pans 

 and pots should be of the same kind. 

 When planted out, any garden soil 

 suits them ; they are, in fact, not at 

 all particular, but, as just remarked, 

 a cool rich soil suits the purple orach 

 best, because of its tendency to seed 

 early, which makes an end of its 

 beauty. The purple orach may also 

 be sown in April where it is to re- 



main for the season ; but Chenopo- 

 dium atriplicis should ?iever be sown 

 in the open ground, on account of its 

 very miffy character when young, 

 and its tendency in consequence to 

 damp off or perish in hot sunshine. 

 When it attains a height of three or 

 four inches, it is quite able to with- 

 stand any amount of moisture or sun- 

 shine, and is every way hardy and 

 vigorous. 



We have described these plants 

 at length, not because they are either 

 new or curious in themselves, but 

 because in villa gardens they may be 

 turned to account to produce very 

 novel effects, and because also many 

 country gardeners are as yet but 

 imperfectly acquainted with them. 

 In the vicinity of London, nursery- 

 men retail plants of perilla and purple 

 orach at prices varying from fourto six 

 shillings a dozen, and the customers 

 suppose by the peculiar character of 

 the plants that there is some mystery 

 in raising stock of them. We have 

 now shown how a few thousands may 

 be grown, without difficulty, at the 

 cost of a few shillings, and we have 

 no doubt the information will be 

 esteemed by the majority of our 

 readers. 



The fourth plant of the class is 

 the newest, and it is uuquestionably 

 the best. Its name is Achyranthus 

 Verschaffelti ; it is also known as 

 Iresene Herbstii, but the first name is 

 that usually recognized. This is an 

 amaranthaceous plant of branching 

 habit and free growth, the leaves of 

 which are of a deep rich claret colour, 

 with a vivid carmine band along the 

 line of the midrib. A mass of it has- 

 a more gorgeous effect than that of 

 any purple-leaved plant known ; that 

 is to say, of the kinds available for 

 bedding, and it may be propagated 

 from cuttings in a moderate hot-bed 

 with the utmost facility. 



Coleus Verschaffeliih&B been justly 

 famous in this category. The rich 

 chocolate crimson of a great mass of 

 this plant, when edged with Centaurea 

 ragusina, is absolutely indescribable. 

 This coleus requires a rich soil and a 

 warm sheltered position, and it ought 

 not to be planted till quite the end of 

 June. To obtain stock of it, purchase 



