130 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



quentlv, to their abundant flowering. The best way to multiply them 

 is to put down layers in August, but half-ripe shoots may be easily 

 struck in summer under hand-glasses or in frames. 



"When grown as bedding plants the hybrid clematis should be 

 planted two to three feet apart in large clumps. A number of 

 varieties may be mixed, as they all present shades of crimson and 

 purple, but the most decided effect will be produced by employing 

 one showy variety for a bed, or a number of varieties distinctly 

 arranged in bands or rows. Some time in June the beds should be 

 covered with two inches depth of half-rotten manure put on care- 

 fully. The plants will soon cover and hide it, and will enjoy the 

 moist surface it will ensure them during the heat of the summer. 

 As the plants progress they must be pegged down a little higher 

 than verbenas, and quite as regularly. All the growth they make 

 should be left until the month of April following, when the whole of 

 the plants should be cut back to within six inches of the ground. 



"When employed to cover walls and trellises, it is not well to tie 

 them in from top to toe, as a drill-sergeant would, if he dared, tie in 

 his young recruits. Take them up a certain height properly ; make 

 them very secure, and then let them fall over improperly ; just as a 

 bit of grand old ivy will tumble from the top of a tower, and suddenly 

 stay in mid air, as a magical fringe to a harsh ungainly outline. As 

 it is desirable to cover walls and trellises quickly, secure strong plants 

 and do justice to them. If a border must be made for them, say 

 turfy loam, sand, and rotten manure equal parts, and the border to 

 be three feet wide and two feet deep, and the plants not more than 

 six feet apart ; better if three feet apart to begin with, to ensure a 

 quick investment. 



When grown on rockeries and rough banks, they should not be 

 pruned at all. Give them a deep bed of light rich soil in well chosen 

 positions, and for ever after, so far as regards cultivation, forget them. 

 "When grown as conservatory specimens, pot them in 11 or 13- 

 inch pots in a good light loamy compost, and grow them out of doors 

 until they begin to flower. The best form in which to train them is 

 the pyramid, or a blunt cone, but that is a matter of taste, and they 

 may be as easily trained to a watch-glass form as a verbena or chry- 

 santhemum. The trellis must be adapted to the form required, and 

 in some cases hazel rods, in others stout wires will be necessary. It 

 is of the utmost importance in the cultivation of the plants in pots 

 or tubs to keep them regularly watered, and occasionally syringed 

 with clean soft water. 



Though so new to our gardens, the varieties of clematis already 

 exceed all average requirements, and it is necessary in connection 

 with this paper that we should make a selection. We shall be 

 content with only twelve, though we might find fifty varieties worth 

 growing. Those who want more than we recommend can easily 

 obtain them, but we must beg that they will secure our lot first, for 

 we believe them to be stars of the first magnitude in the constellation 

 Clematis. 



Star of India must have first place as the subject of our figure. 

 It is but poorly represented in the plate, though the portrait is truth- 



