80 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



The largest product, that of Mr. Salter, was grown " oa a very 

 rich sandy loam, ricli in decayed vegetable matter to the depth of 

 between two and three feet, and lying upon a compact formation 

 known as hardpan, which has never been under-drained." Mr. A. 

 Kobinson's soil likewise was " a sandy loam, clay subsoil, where he 

 broke up and raised potatoes last year." Most crops, however, 

 were raised on deep alluvial lands, underlaid with gravel ; others on 

 light loam, with clay or gravelly subsoil, and, in a few cases, on 

 heavy clay, highly manured. In but very few instances was the land 

 iirtificially underdrained, which seems to be a noteworthy fact. 



Of fertilizers and mixtures an almost endless variety was used : 

 but the one substance almost invariably applied was wood-ashes. 

 In a few cases as much as one pint of ashes was applied to each hill 

 as top-dressing; and, in one instance, the sets were actually planted 

 on and covered with ashes. Plaster, lime, and salt were also exten- 

 sively employed, and with great advantage. Strong nitrogenous 

 manures have frequently been considered as detrimental to the 

 potato, but here we find that many successful gi'owers use large 

 quantities of blood, fish, Peruvian guano, and poultry-yard manure, 

 also barn-yard manure, at the rate of fifty loads per acre, without 

 producing diseased potatoes. 



ANNUAL FLO WEES FOR SUMMER BEDDING. 



BY THOMAS TETTSSLER, EDJIONTOX, IT. 



iNNUAL flowers, when judiciously selected and properly 

 cultivated, are of unquestionable value for the decoration 

 of the flower-garden, although they are not held in 

 high esteem by many to whom they should be of especial 

 value. They are frequently pronounced weedy and 

 short-lived, which in some instances is the case, owing to the plants 

 being improperly managed, and in others, to growing kinds 

 which justify their condemnation on the ground of weediness, for 

 some of the annuals are of less value from a decorative point of view 

 than some of the more showy of our wildings. But there are num- 

 bers capable of producing a grand display of colour throughout the 

 season, and which only require ordinary good management to have 

 them in perfection, and there are also a number of the ordinary 

 bedders which can be raised from seed in the spring. It is of these 

 two classes that I now propose speaking, and in the course of my re- 

 marks, I hope to show how amateurs may obtain a stock of plants of 

 the utmost value for supplementing the stock of geraniums and other 

 things which are of necessity propagated from cuttings. 



First of all, we must consider which are the most suitable for 

 making a good display, and in making a selection it will be necessary 

 to omit many beautiful things because of their fugacious character. 

 In Ageratmn Imperial Dwarf, we have a most excellent pale blue 

 bedder, and this, in my opinion, is the best of the genus for bedding. 



