THE FLORAL WORLD AND aARDEN GUIDE. 



150 



these are never so good as tlie first. 

 Hence the seeds get smaller every 

 year, and the plants cease to be so 

 prolific, or to produce such good pods. 

 Those that are gathered from should 

 be gathered close, not one pod should 

 be allo^ved to s\\'ell ; it is better to 

 pluck them and throw them away, 

 than to let seed ripen indiscrimi- 

 nately, for when once a few pods have 

 set for seed, the plants throw all their 

 vigour into them, and soon cease bear- 

 ing altogether. But there is nothing 



easier got rid of where there is a su- 

 perabundance. Anybody will accept 

 a dish of French beans or runners, 

 and if you have plenty it will not be 

 labour lost to gather as the plants 

 require it, and give to your neigh- 

 bours what you do not want yourself. 

 The seed should be stored in the pods, 

 and for ordinary purposes a couple of 

 dozen runners and forty or fifty plants 

 of the dwarf kind will furnish abund- 

 ance of seed. 



SELECT GREENHOUSE PLANTS. 



STATICS HAIiPORDII. 



This is a very showy member of the pretty 

 class of Sea Lavenders, and raaj' be bloomed 

 in the house, or used as an out-door fur- 

 nishing plant dm-ing the summer. It may 

 be wintered in a cold pit, or in the coolest 

 part of an airy house. It requires a com- 

 position of fibrous loam, or old turf, with 

 one-fourth of peat and one-fourth of sand 

 added, but no dung or any other exciting 

 ingredient. Halfordii produces its beauti- 

 ful blue flowers in great profusion, and is 

 undoubtedly the best of the statices for 

 pot-culture. The culture is altogether 

 simple, and it is entered here more as a 

 reminder on account of its merit, than 

 with any idea that a routine of treatment 

 need be given. 



1I3IANTHUS ETTS3ELLIAXUS. 



This exquisitely beautiful member of 

 the Grentian family is usually regarded as 

 an annual ; it is, however, best treated as 

 a biennial, if raised from seed, as it 

 blooms much stronger if kept over winter. 

 The most ready way of propagating it is 

 by cuttings taken in autumn, and a stock 

 should be kept up in the same way as ver- 

 benas, petimias, etc., and it will be prized 

 as a decorative feature for the house during 

 the latter part of the summer, when many 

 of the most showy occupants are turned 

 out. With a steady bottom heat, cuttings 

 are easily struck under a bell-glass in sandy 

 peat, after which they should be grown in 

 a mixture of loam, sand, and peat, in equal 

 proportions. As this is a great favourite 

 with many cultivators, who find it difficult 

 to keep in winter, we introduce it here for 

 the purpose of remarking that there are 

 two conditions essential to its preserva- 

 tion. During winter it must have a warm 



place, av3raging 50° if possible, but never 

 below 45", and not a drop of water must 

 touch the leaves. In fact, winter it in the 

 same way as mignonette intended for early 

 blooming, and in July it will repay you 

 with its splendid blossoms of a rich blue, 

 shaded with purple. When out of bloom, 

 the foliage is sufficiently handsome to 

 make it at all seasons a decorative plant. 



CHBTSOCOMA COMAtTKEA. 



This is a beautiful evergreen shrub of 

 the popular family of Groldilocks. It pro- 

 duces a profusion of golden ball-like 

 flowers, and is most effective for conser- 

 vatory embellishment, attaining a height of 

 six feet when well grown. On a stage, 

 among purple and crimson flowers, it is 

 very striking. Take cuttings of half-ripe 

 shoots in April, and strike them under a 

 bell-glass in pure sand without bottom 

 heat, in a warm corner of the house. 

 When rooted, pot off into small pots in 

 poor loam, witli plenty of sand, and give 

 another shift in autumn, but be careful 

 not to over-pot. Early in spring shiit 

 into seven-inch pots in a mixture of loam, 

 with one-fourth old dry cow-dung and 

 peat added. Syringe frequently, and give 

 plenty of light and air, and you will have 

 abundance of bloom from July to tlie end 

 of the season. 



APHEIiSXIS HUMILIS. 



The three best of these curious Ever- 

 lastings are, A. humilis, purpurea grand'f 

 flora, and sesamoides. When out of flower 

 they are gawky, ill-looking things; but 

 their profusion of star-shaped flowers, 

 which last a long time, give them avery 

 cheerful aspect, and they come in well to 

 embelHsh the beauty of the house when a 



