THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



75 



a list as this ; so that we pass over a 

 vast host of the finest roses in culti- 

 vation if we adhere strictly to the 

 idea of plentiful and continuous 

 bloom. But we have done very well. 

 Bedding plants are used in masses of 

 the same kind, and we have thus a 

 dozen distinct colours, and the varie- 

 ties are twenty in number. For a 

 thorough rose grower the list might 

 be swelled to about sixty ; but we 

 have kept as closely as possible to 

 those which will accomplish the true 



purpose of bedding plants in the 

 hands of the least skilful. As there 

 is luck in odd numbers, we must here 

 throw in the common China, which 

 everybody knows and grows, and 

 those who doubt its fitness for use in 

 groups, only need to take note of it 

 round the margins of the Rhododen- 

 dron and Pseony beds at the Crystal 

 Palace, and it will be seen that the 

 commonest of garden plants has an 

 artistic value second to none in our 

 lists. H. 



EXTRACTS FROM MY NOTE-BOOK. 



Clipping Hedges. — Everywhere 

 about London hedges are clipped in a 

 most ridiculous fa-hion. The usual 

 mode is to clip the face perpendicular 

 and the top horizontal ; the hedge is, 

 in fact, cut square. The consequence 

 is that the lower parts being shaded, 

 die ; the hedge becomes a mass of 

 sticks, with verdure only on the top. 

 To remedy this, cut the hedge in 

 this form, "1 or, as they call it in 

 some places, "like a hog's back." 

 Then every part will have light 

 equally, and it will be always green 

 and dense from top to bottom. 



Peaches. — In America, where 

 peaches are better grown than in any 

 other part of the world, the practice 

 is to sow peach-stones, and when the 

 trees are strong, to bud them with 

 choice varieties. Thus the tree is 

 never transplanted ; it is made in the 

 orchard and not in the nursery. The 

 American pomologists say this is one 

 secret of the immense productiveness 

 of their peach trees. 



Obnamental Geasses are some- 

 times troublesome to get up in the 

 first instance from seed. IMow, who- 

 ever intends to grow ornamental 

 grasses this season had best sow the 

 seed in March or April (the ear- 

 lier the better) in pans, and place the 

 pans on a sweet hot-bed. When the 

 plants are up, let them be hardened 

 by degrees, and early in May you 

 may plant out strong tufts, and the 

 growth will be luxuriant from the 

 first. 



Wheee to gbow the beal 

 Maidenhaib Febn. — Many growers 

 of ferns say that they cannot grow 

 Adiantum capillus veneris, though 

 they follow strictly the recommen- 

 dations in the books. Let me tell 

 them of a certain method ; that is, if 

 they possess a deep brick well. Take 

 a small plant with good roots, and fix 

 it between the bricks inside the well 

 two or three feet from the top, and 

 where it is not likely to be injured. 

 In the course of twelve months, it 

 will clothe the brickwork of the well 

 with an almost continuous sheet of 

 its lovely verdure. Soil it does not 

 need; the damp bricks will suffice 

 for it if it has a little light. In wells 

 that are a little warm, Trichomanes 

 and Hymenophy Hums might be grown 

 the same way. 



ToFloweb Seedling Geeanittms 

 the fibst Season. — Sow in a brisk 

 heat on the 1st of February. Prick 

 them into small pots as soon as large 

 enough to handle, and keep them in 

 a warm place near the glass till the 

 bedding-plants are removed from the 

 house. Then shift to 6-inch pots, and 

 put them in the house. Give plenty 

 of air all summer, and they will all 

 bloom in August and September. 

 This is a better way than sowing one 

 season to flower the next, because it 

 saves the trouble of keeping the seed- 

 lings all winter, which is a nuisance, 

 seeing that a majority of them are 

 sure to be worthless. By the quick 

 method they are all proved before 



