THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 127 



of St. John's Wood (E. G. Henderson). — If this should ever again 

 present the colours it had in 1868, it will be one of the grandest leaf bedders known. 

 It is a sport from C. Verschaffelti, which is greatly in its favour. The prevailing 

 colours are golden yellow and a tone of red inclining to scarlet. 



Crimson Velvet (Bull). — A small-leaved crimson variety, very rich in colour, 

 and fully justifying its attractive name. 



Hendersoni. — A fine flat ovate leaf, of a rich reddish chocolate colour, edged 

 with golden green. This and Marshalli are so much alike, that no one needs both. 



Bausei. — Very large leaf, deeply frilled, margin bright green, centre of leaf 

 blackish purple. 



Allamanda nobilis surpasses all others for exhibition purposes, but the next 

 best undoubtedly is A. Hendersoni (alias Wardleiana). For description, see 

 " Garden Oracle," p. 64. 



Gesnera Exoniensis. — As it is now the best time to purchase this plant, we 

 recommend it as one of the finest of its class, and a decided novelty, the peculiar 

 orange red of its flowers and the rich velvety crimson of its leaves rendering it a 

 most attractive plant in the stove. We have succeeded in figuring the leaf some- 

 thing like life in No. XL of " Beautiful-leaved Plants," and a figure of the flowers 

 isjnow in the hands of the readers of the Floral World. No one will regret 

 having purchased this plant on our recommendation. 



TO CORRESPONDENTS. 



Plants for the Flower-garden A Lady Gardener, York. — You need be 



in little trouble about not having sufficient plants for your flower-garden, as you 

 say you have a few pots full of cuttings of each kind. Begin, in the first place, by 

 getting together a few loads of stable manure. Let it be well shaken out, and then 

 turned over three or four times. If it gets dry in the centre of the heap, throw a 

 few pails of water over it during the turning over process. When it is well sweet- 

 ened, build it up in a bed upon which the frame is to be placed. It should be large 

 enough to allow about a foot width round the frame. After the frame has been 

 placed on the hotbed a day or two, spread over the bottom about six inches of coal- 

 ashes, in which to plunge the cutting pots, and then all will be ready for their 

 reception. The frame being ready, the next important step is to put the cuttings in. 

 Begin by taking some clean five-inch pots, putting two inches of crocks in the 

 bottom, and then fill with light sandy soil, such as loam, leaf-mould, and sand 

 mixed together and sifted. This must be pressed in firm, and half an inch of sand 

 put on the top and watered. The cuttings can be taken off either at a joint or not, 

 and if dibbled in carefully, they will soon take root. When the cuttings are in- 

 serted, give them a sprinkle through a fine rose to settle the sand, and plunge in the 

 ashes. A little air must be left on at all times to allow the escape of any noxious 

 gas from the manure, and the cuttings shaded from the sun. You might propagate 

 in the way described above verbenas, petunias, heliotropes, lobelias, etc., etc. A 

 hed like this would also be invaluable forgetting up Amaranthus, Perilla, Cannas, 

 Phlox Drummondi, Castor-oils, and other annuals suited for bedding from seed. 



Silvery edging Plants. — E. G. S-, Kingston. — There are plenty of plants 

 suitable for the purpose. Centaurea ragusina, from six to nine inches in height, is, 

 without doubt, unequalled, but it requires shelter during the winter. It will stand 

 out of doors in ordinary winters, but the plants get too high for edgings the following 

 summer. It is much the best to raise a stock of young plants every year. Stachys 

 lanata forms a good edging for long borders, but it is rather too coarse for select 

 beds. It is readily propagated by division. Edgings of this ought to be taken up 

 and replanted every year, or the flower-spikes will give an enormous amount of 

 trouble throughout the season, besides the band getting too wide, and presenting a 

 ragged appearance. Veronica incana is one of the very best hardy edging plants 

 in existence. You should have seen it at Battersea Park last summer. Cerastium 

 tomentosnm is also good. It ought to be taken up every year, and replanted, and 

 cut in twice during the season, to keep it regular and neat. 



