30G THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



Violette Hative. — A fine, prolific, richly-flavoured variety, and 

 one that can always be depended upon for producing a satisfactory 

 crop. 



Plums. — I should only advise the planting of this fruit in the 

 orchard-house, for the purpose of being able to gather earlier than 

 from the open walls. In the north, where the finest plums do not 

 attain perfection on the open walls, a larger proportion may be 

 planted indoors. 



Avgeline Burdett. — A finely-flavoured dark purple variety. 



Coe's Golden Drop. — The best late plum in cultivation, being 

 remarkably rich when quite ripe. 



Green Gaffe, July. — An early variety of the old Green Gage, 

 ripening in July, and equal to the old form in flavour. 



Jefferson. — A fine, free bearing, delicious-flavoured yellow plum. 



Kir ike's. — Very prolific, handsome, and well-flavoured. 



Seine Claude Violette. — One of the best-flavoured purple plums, 

 and a good bearer. 



SELECT HERBACEOUS PLANTS. 



No. I.— THE PHLOX. 



BY GEOEGE GEAY, 



Head Gardener, Norbiton Hall, Kingston-on-Thames. 



HAVE never been an advocate for indiscriminately 

 collecting any class of plants, because it is likely to do 

 the class to which they belong more harm than can 

 easily be imagined. There are, it is true, many beauti- 

 ful herbaceous plants besides the few which I shall deal 

 with in these papers ; and it must also be admitted that there are 

 many which are little better than weeds : and to grow both good and 

 bad is likely to lead inexperienced people into the idea that herba- 

 ceous plants are little better than rubbish. I shall confine myself 

 to those genera which are first-rate, and capable, with proper treat- 

 ment, of producing a most brilliant display, that would at once 

 satisfy the connoisseur and arrest the attention of the superficial 

 observer. All that I shall say anything about will do well under 

 ordinary careful treatment, as will be seen by the following direc- 

 tions. We will take first the Phlox, because it is perhaps the most 

 beautiful of all herbaceous plants. There are scores of fine varieties 

 which can be had for a few shillings per dozen; yet the old common 

 white and lilac varieties are the only sorts that are to be met with 

 in any quantity. I have no desire to unduly praise this flower, or 

 persuade any of my readers to devote half their garden to its cul- 

 ture ; but I would fain persuade them to set apart a small portion 

 of it — say a bed, or a part of a flower-border, large enough to 

 hold a dozen fine plants — and then do them justice. Where 

 this is done, I venture to predict the uprooting of a large quantity 



