1.S73. ] THE PENTSTEMON. 159 



rag, thin and old, being the best. On this rag, sow white mustard seed, thickly 

 enough to nearly cover it. The rag must be kept wet, for the salad has to live 

 by water, and yet it must not have stagnant water. It should be kept away 

 from light, and in a warm place, and covered with, say, a piece of newspaper 

 to keep away the dust. When the seeds have begun to grow, they will stick 

 firmly to the wet flannel, and after they have fairly pushed into leaf they may 

 have light enough to green them. When from 1 in. to 2 in. high, the salading 

 will be fit for table, and should be neatly clipped off, so as not to get amongst it 

 any mouldy seeds that may be at the bottom. When a person has grown one 

 batch, and tasted the greens of his labour on his bread and butter, he will aspire 

 to a square box, with soil as wet as bricklayers' mortar, and sow his cress or 

 mustard on that. The box need not be more than one inch deep, but must be 

 carefully kept moist, warm, and dark, until the salad gets fairly on its legs, and 

 then it will bear the light to the end of its days, which will seldom number over 

 seven, for ' young' and ' crisp ' are the criteria by which to judge of salad herbs. 

 The Hyacinth culture is an excellent beginning, but the season of the 

 Hyacinth is soon over, and I think that a few other cheap experiments added 

 would break in beginners in the theory of plant life ; first, by culture in water, 

 then in earth ; and always with a stimulus to profit by the work. — Alexander 

 FoKSYTH, Salfunl. 



THE PENTSTEMON. 



AISERS of new Pentstemons have during the past ten years done very 

 much not only to improve, but also to popularise this undoubtedly fine 

 hardy plant ; and English and Continental raisers alike have aided the work 

 of improvement, and are abreast of each other in regard to the value of 

 these products. 



The Pentst^mon is so accommodating that it will grow in almost any soil, but 

 a good light loam, well enriched with leaf -mould and some well decomposed 

 manure, will bring out with a rich fullness the superb beauty of this flower. 

 The Pentstemon blooms abundantly from June to October, and when the autumn 

 months are drawing to a close, the most cherished varieties can be lifted, and 

 the plants wintered in a cold frame where protection can be given during 

 frost, and with some fine siftings from the refuse of the potting bench placed 

 about the roots. Cuttings of these should be made from the young growth in 

 August and September, and wintered in store pots in a greenhouse. As seed of 

 very fine strains of the Pentstemon can now be readily had, the grower should 

 annually raise a few, and so seek as far as he can to improve his favourite flower. 

 The seed should be sown in a gentle heat in February and March, placing it in 

 pans in some light rich soil, and as soon as large enough to handle, the plants 

 may be pricked off into pans, boxes, or pots, and encouraged to grow on as 

 rapidly as possible. At the end of May they can be planted out, and it is always 

 a good plan to make a bed of them, as they form very interesting objects during 

 the summer months. — R. Dean, Ealing. 



