266 THE FLORIST. 



to grow that are not budded. The buds must be put in as close to 

 the heel as possible, and they should be from different Roses, but all 

 of one habit (of the slow-growing kinds), because, if some were more 

 vigorous than others, there would be no regularity of growth. In 

 pruning these, the greatest thing to be attended to is, to cut them 

 where they are crowded, removing all superfluous wood, and attend- 

 ing to their general growth. Small Roses are the best for this kind 

 of specimen, and the colours should be contrasted as much as pos- 

 sible. When in bloom, such a Rose is very attractive, and in two 

 years, on a strong Brier, it will form a perfect head, although it will 

 improve for many )'ears afterwards. The stock and forked branches 

 must be prevented from making shoots. 



As regards the situations in which specimen plants should grow, 

 much depends on the form of the clumps, and beds on the lawn, and 

 the disposition of the walks. They may be planted with advantage 

 near a clump, but not too close to it, and if opposite an inward curve, 

 so much the better; but there should be twelve feet between the 

 specimen and the clump, and in all cases they should be four or five 

 feet from the walk. In many places, a few specimen Roses add 

 greatly to the general eflfect ; but until they arrive at a large size they 

 are not worth notice ; yet it is better to grow them where they are 

 to remain than to remove them when full grown, for when removed 

 at that age they never answer well afterwards. 



Oct. 1th. 



A WORD OR TWO ABOUT ANNUALS. 



The charge so often laid against this very useful class of flowers, 

 that of being so ephemeral in their duration, requires some degree 

 of qualification. That they frequently are so, cannot be denied ; but 

 it will be observed that such is oftener the result of mismanagement 

 than attributable to the real deficiencies of the plants. They are 

 so universally employed as a means of decoration, that a word or 

 two in their favour will not, I hope, be out of place. From the 

 aristocratic parterre to the oval flower-plot of the citizen amateur, 

 they are found lending their richness of colour during the sum- 

 mer months. Nor can this be wondered at. In their ranks are 

 placed some of our greatest favourites. In colour, in habit, in profu- 

 sion of bloom, they have much to recommend. Look at the Zinnias, 

 making the very eye quail when gazing on them beneath an August 

 sun. Then the gorgeous Portulacas ; the humble but never-to-be- 

 described Messembryanthemum bicolor; the quaint Calandrinia splen- 

 dens ; and the beautifully veined Salpiglossus. Then, again, the 

 rich blue of the Eutoca viscida ; the no less beautiful but paler Nemo- 

 phyllainsignis, and the lovely Platystemon californicum ; Indian Pinks, 

 Campanulas, Stocks, Asters, Lobelias, and hosts of others, rise up in 

 the memory and demand a notice. Nor must be forgotten one of 

 the most gorgeous, superlatively handsome as it is in a mass, the 

 Sphenogyne speciosa. When this plant is well managed, and a bed 



