62 



THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



are, however, none yet to beat our old 

 friend Nanny de Sermet, which I believe is 

 the parent from which nearly all the others 

 have proceeded. But here are two more 

 lovely light flowers, Justine Tessier, 

 let out two or three years since — a white, 

 with very slight tinge of sulphur, and 

 exactly like the lovely dower of the double 

 pyrethrum ; and Louisa, a pui'e white, large 

 and fine. I am recommending here only 

 such as I iatend to grow myself this season 

 as the very best of hundreds of seedlings, 

 which Mr. Salter thought good enough to 

 keep, as out of the gross many may turn 

 out to be acquisitions. One reason why 

 Mr. Salter enjoys so high a fame as a 

 raiser of seedlings is, that he never lets 

 out a flower that will not do him credit, 

 and he blooms thousands that have to be 

 consigned to the muck-pit, though pos- 

 sessing many good qualities. A flower 

 must either give us a new odour, or a 

 habit that beats some of the established 

 varieties, to make it worthy of a name and 

 of being propagated for sale. Any one who 

 likes to put a pinch of chrysanthemum 

 seed in a pan, and give it a start in heat 

 till the seedlings are large enough to prick 

 out in pots, may have as good a chance as 

 the people at Versailles nursery ; but they 

 must expect no more, and the chance is 

 one in two thousand, Mr. Salter says he 

 does not expect more than one first-class 

 flower worthy to be kept and added to his 

 catalogue out of a bed of 2000 seedling 

 plants. 



In the spring-work chrysanthemums 

 will not be forgotten here, but we are so 

 stocked with old stools that we ahall have 

 little need to strike any but the new ones 

 in heat, so that we shall be \ery full this 

 season to try some of the new geraniums, 

 verbenas, and calceolarias, all of whicli 

 must be caught in tiijie if they are to 

 bloom this season. Among the geraniums 

 which I reconmiend people to strike in 

 quantity are — " Lucea rosea," a charming 

 pink, which stands any amount of sun and 

 drought ; Rosy morn, a deep cerise, with 

 fine horse-shoe foliage ; Cerise unique, 

 which everybody knows is the very best 

 scarlet geranium for pots for the windows 

 or vases, but it does not bed well ; Rich- 

 mond gem, a famous bedder, flowers orange- 

 scarlet, with white flower-stalks in the 

 way oC Commander, bur'bctter; and to get 

 strong, and be kept from blooming all the 

 summer, so iis to be in gay trim next 

 Christmas, General Pelissier, which I 

 find to be one of the very best of scarlets 

 for forcing ; Kingsbury pet still holds its 

 ground as the best of the salmon pink 

 class ; but Tom Thumb's Bride, which I 



used to grow in quantity, I am tired of; it 

 is so flimsy and transient, though a capital 

 sort for a mass in a rustic basket, where 

 a strong colour might be objectionable. 

 Ignescens superba will take the lead among 

 hybrid bedding geraniums, and after that 

 wo may take choiceof Mrs. Standish — a very 

 showy flower ; purple, scarlet, and white 

 uniques, which never fail to bloom at every 

 joint ; and of the right habit for the third 

 it)w in a ribbon, Sidonia, any of the Quer- 

 eifoliums, and, for a pure white, Virgmeum. 

 In describing the M'^altouiau case, I 

 made a passing remark, about striking 

 cuttings in sand and water, which needs 

 a further word of explanation. Do not 

 venture geranium cuttings that way, for 

 fifty per cent, go rotten unless the heat 

 is very fierce, and the cuttings in the fullest 

 possible vigour. But verbenas, petunias, 

 salvias, calceolarias, fuchsias, peutstemons, 

 and nearly every kind of herbaceous plant, 

 will strike quicker that way than any other. 

 Take a common seed-pan without drainage 

 holes, fill it three parts full of silver sand, 

 and then fill it to the brim with water, and 

 put it aside in any warm place for twenty- 

 four hours. By that time the sand will 

 have settled firmly, and the cuttings are to 

 be thrust into it till they toucli the bottom 

 of the pan. The cuttings must be green 

 side-shoots, taken ofi" if possible with a 

 heel, or else cut close under a joint. Take 

 off only so many leaves as will give a clear 

 stem to thrust into the sand, and remem- 

 ber that the more leaves you allow to 

 remain on a cutting the sooner it will root 

 if in a moist, warm air, but not a scrap of 

 leaf must be buried in the sand, or it will 

 go mouldy, and do mischief. Stick the 

 cuttings a'l over the surface, and they will 

 stand upright in the little bog. Put the 

 pan into a heat of 60" or 70', or even 75^, 

 and shut close, and merely look at them 

 every day to see that they keep fresh, with 

 no signs of mouldiuess, and if possible 

 allow them to remain without being 

 touched till the sand is almost dry. If it 

 gets quite dry, they will all perish ; there- 

 fore, if the water dries oS' before they get 

 root, add some more, which of course 

 must be quite warm and be dribbled in 

 over a piece of tile to prevent disturbing 

 the sandy bed. You can at any time take 

 out one to see how they go on, and put it 

 into the wet sand aj^nin witb.out the least 

 injury. AVhen they 1 ive roots, pot them 

 tenderly into thumbs, with very sandy 

 compost, plenty of sand over the tender 

 fibres, give plenty of water, and put them 

 in heat again, and thence shift them as 

 they require it, and get hardened in time 

 for bedding out. I keep all my lobelias, ver- 



