THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



177 



shake over the paint a little dry sand. 

 Then paint again and again, each 

 time shaking over a little dry sand, 

 but always allowing the sand to dry 

 before applying another coat. 



The Best Beddees. — The best 

 bedders for amateurs are those which 

 are used in greatest quantities at great 

 places. Amateur cultivators generally 

 suppose that in great places the means 

 and appliances are so perfect that the 

 planters there have ten chances to an 

 amateur's one. This is a great mis- 

 take. I have seen the propagating 

 and keeping places at all the great 

 gardens, and I can say that in nearly 

 every case the millions of bedding 

 plants produced, are the result not of 

 first-rate appliances but of appliances 

 wretchedly imperfect, and so far in- 

 ferior to what most amateurs possess 

 that the managers of the great places 

 are really those who deserve commis- 

 seration. I shall not go into details 

 upon this subject ; suffice it that at 

 Kew, Crystal Palace, Victoria Park, 

 in fact everywhere at places of note, 

 the bedding stock is got up in ram- 

 shackle pits and frames, and houses of 

 the most makeshift character, and it 

 is not by first-class glass that suc- 

 cesses are insured. But the fact is 

 important, because it teaches that the 

 plants found most serviceable at great 

 places are those that are most to be 

 relied on for display of colour, and 

 which also have constitutions that 

 adapt them to a certain degree of hard 

 treatment. 



Among geraniums there are a few 

 that surpass all the rest in absolute 

 usefulness. Stella, crimson scarlet, 

 is certainly the finest bedding gera- 

 nium known. Attraction, scarlet, is 

 better than either Tom Thumb or 

 Crystal Palace, but it is not much 

 grown, and, in place of it, Crystal 

 Palace Scarlet may be used with 

 safety. The last named differs from 

 Tom Thumb in being of more upright 

 growth, and producing a richer and 

 more continuous display of flowers. 

 The fourth of this series is Christina, 

 which in its colour and style is not yet 

 surpassed as a bedder. 



Among verbenas, the most useful 

 is Purple King; the next most useful, 

 Mrs. Holl'ord, Lord Raglan, Fox- 



hunter, and Ocean Pearl, which are 

 all true bedders, and never fail to 

 produce the effect desired of them 

 when properly treated. 



Tropajolums (Lobbianum section) 

 of varied kinds abound ; but the best 

 are Elegans, Eclipse, and Conqueror. 

 The last is a seedling raised by Mr. 

 Gordon, of the Crystal Palace, and it 

 is this season planted on the rose 

 mount, where visitors curious in these 

 matters may recognize it by its fine 

 scarlet flowers and exceedingly glau- 

 cous leaves. 



Lobelias (of the speciosa breed) 

 abound.and several of them are of emi- 

 nent service in bedding. The best are 

 the true speciosa, which is a fine deep 

 blue ; Blue King, which is a clear sky- 

 blue ; Paxtoniana, creamy white and 

 pale blue ; and Compacta, which is of 

 very dwarfy compact habit. 



Among silvery-leaved plants, Cen- 

 taurea ragusina is the grandest of all. 

 There are few who know how to 

 manage this, and hence mauy in- 

 quiries come to hand. I have by a 

 regular course of experimental cul- 

 ture mastered it completely, and I 

 can tell you in a word how to do it. 

 Plant a few strong specimens in a 

 rather dry sheltered position in sandy 

 soil. Take during the summer as 

 many side-shoots as you can obtain 

 from those and from all others in 

 beds, ribbons, etc.; strike these side- 

 shoots and house them in the usual 

 way, and keep them rather dry all 

 winter. The plants put out in the 

 selected position are to remain there 

 all the winter. If a mild winter, they 

 will all survive. If a severe winter, 

 they will not all perish. Those that 

 survive will next season flower, and 

 seed abundantly. Sow all the seeds, 

 and go on again in the same way. 

 This routine is soon told. It is worth 

 a ten-pound note in cash to any one 

 who for either trade or artistic rea- 

 sons wishes to grow a stock of this 

 grandest of bedding plants. It may 

 be well to add that C. ragusina and 

 C. candidissima are one and the same 

 thing, but the first is the proper name 

 for it. 



Next to Centaurea candidissima, 

 the best silvery-leaved plant is Cine- 

 raria maritima, which may be struck 



