54 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



of these plants. They fancy we have a bank of mignonette, violets, 

 and roses hidden away somewhere behind the shrubs, and will hardly 

 believe, the next morning, when we show them the plants, that such 

 overpowering fragrance can be exhaled by such insignificant objects. 

 We save our own seed, but I see, by the trade-lists, that a sufficient 

 supply of each of the varieties can now be obtained for sixpence. 



Hakmet Tettekell. 



CENTATJREAS AND HOW TO PROPAGATE THEM. 



BY JOHN WALSH. 



1REAT popularity has been obtained by the Centurea, 

 since plants remarkable for their rich colours and the 



ornamental character of their leaves, have been gene- 

 rally employed in the embellishment of the flower 

 garden. It well deserves the high esteem in which it 

 is held, for without doubt it is the most valuable of all plants, with 

 silvery or grey foliage. These remarks are not penned with the 

 intention of passing an eulogy on its merits, because that is not 

 required, but my object is to assist amateurs in raising a stock with 

 the least possible amount of trouble. Most professional gardeners 

 are now well acquainted with the best steps to take in their propa- 

 gation, but I now and then meet with some who are as yet firm 

 believers that they are most difficult to increase, whereas in reality 

 they can be propagated with the greatest ease. I shall not therefore 

 apologize for communicating these notes to a work which is so 

 extensively read by all classes of horticulturists. 



Centaureas can be propagated by means of cuttings struck in 

 the spring or autumn, and from seed. Each mode has its advantages 

 and disadvantages ; but for these not well up in the mysteries of 

 striking cuttings, seed affords the readiest means of raising a stock. 

 It must also be resorted to where there are no old plants to supply 

 cuttings. Seed of all the varieties is plentiful in the trade, and 

 may be obtained from any respectable house. Sown at once in heat, 

 and the seedlings pushed on in a brisk temperature until the middle 

 of April, plants suitable for edging purposes may be secured by the 

 time they are required for putting out in the flower-garden. Sow- 

 ing in autumn is the best period for people who have not the com- 

 mand thus early, as the plants can be raised in the open, or in a 

 cold frame or greenhouse, and wintered in either of these structures. 

 They will also be considerably larger by planting time. All the 

 sorts will bear a considerable amount of frost without injury, when 

 raised in the autumn, and they can be wintered in a cold frame with 

 a mat thrown over the glass to break the frost. Nothing special is 

 required in sowing the seed, and in the management of the seedlings, 

 therefore it would be a waste of space to allude to it further. 



Plenty of home-grown seed for autumn growing may be obtained 

 by allowing the plants taken up from the beds last autumn to bloom, 



