4 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



if they had a trial. The beds in which they are planted should be 

 covered with dry leaves and six inches of soil heaped over to prevent 

 the leaves blowing about ; the magnificence of the foliage and flower- 

 spikes, and the dimensions they attain when left in the ground all 

 the winter, are perfectly astonishing. 



The following are all first-rate : G annei superba, G. expansa, a fine 

 dwarf variety for edging ; G. gigantea major, C. Leirvalli, C. Musce- 

 folia liybricla, G nigricans, G. Rendatleri, C. zebrina. 



Next we will look for a few palms : Caryota urens, is good for 

 select positions, and several of the beautiful Ghamcerops are doubly 

 valuable, as they have the important quality of being nearly hardy. 

 G. Fortunei and G humilis are the two best. Other good palms 

 are Latania borbonica, Phoenix siglvestris, and Seqforthia elegans. 



Prom palms we pass to grasses again : IIolcus saccharatus, Zea 

 caragua, and Z. maysmvke fine bold beds if the seed is sown in the 

 spring, especially if edged with a double row of the beautiful Zea 

 japonica variegata. These grasses should be raised in heat, and 

 planted out in the manner of half-hardy annuals. 



The Dracaenas, from their elegant habits, and in many instances 

 richly coloured foliage, have particular claims upon our attention. 

 The dark-leaved kinds have a beautiful appearance when the surface 

 of the bed is planted with the variegated Dactylis glomerata, or some 

 other short variegated plant. Draoasna stricta, D. ferrea, D. Cooperi, 

 and D. terminalis are four good dark-leaved sorts ; D. australis, D. 

 cannasfolia, D. indivisa, and D. fragrantissima are good green-leaved 

 kinds. 



Selecting in other departments, we find Ferdinandia eminens, 

 Ficus elasticus, Lomatia ferruginea, Rhopala corcovadense, Melianthus 

 major, a very beautiful plant, with elegant compound glaucous foliage, 

 and Wigandia caracasana, all valuable, and the most popular of the 

 subtropicals that require greenhouse shelter during the winter. 



The Tobaccos, Solanuma, and Eicinus are all free-growing plants, 

 and can be easily raised from seed in the spring. The plants 

 belonging to this group will grow freely whether on raised beds or 

 not. Of the first genus, Nicotiania wigandioides and N. macrophyi- 

 lum giganteum are the best. S. acanthocarpum, 8. giganteum, and 8. 

 marginatum are the best of that group ; and of the castor oils, 

 Iiicinus bourbonensis, S. Obermanni, and B. sanguineus are stately 

 growing subjects. 



A full list of flowering plants is not needed, as we have treated 

 upon them very recently, and at length. But we must enumerate a 

 few of the most striking. For large beds the following are magnifi- 

 cent : Abutilon striatum, A. Due de Malakoff, Brugmansia suaveolens, 

 Datura arborea, D. Uuberiana, and several other good varieties. 

 Erythrina crista-galU, F. Marie Bellanger, are first-rate, and the 

 same may be said of Hibiscus rosa sinensis, which flowers grandly in 

 the open-air. For edging purposes Plumbago capensis is a fine 

 subject with its lovely blue flowers, as are several good varieties of 

 Lantanas. S. H. 



