OCTOBER. 



313 



Little now remains to be done except to arrange the blooms on their 

 stands. A little care here aUo is required, A lair proportion of each 

 class ought to be put in ; for instance, in a stand of twelve blooms there 

 should be three white grounds, three yellow do., and three selfs ; the 

 white and yellow grounds ought to be broad and narrow belted, the 

 selfs may be one yellow, one white, and one dark. The proper propor- 

 tion of classes is very often, and ought always to be, taken into account 

 by the judges ; they ought also to be contrasted in the stands as much 

 ds possible, so that the dark flowers may give better effect to the light 

 ones, and vice versa. To have a continuance of bloom during summer, 

 plants should be put in the beginning of ]\Iay and also in June. The 

 side shoots taken off in April may be used for this purpose. 



The Pansy requires a good fresh loamy soil, and if the border is not 

 naturally so, it ought to be improved by the introduction of good loam 

 and well decayed dung. The best method, where it can be adopted, is 

 to remove entirely eighteen inches from the border and make it up again 

 with compost similar to that recommended for potting, or, what I have 

 tried this season with excellent effect, thoroughly decayed rack, to which 

 may be added a good quantity of decayed dung. If a situation shaded 

 from the mid- day sun can be had, so much the better. 



Attention similar to what is recommended above for pot plants must 

 also be paid to these, so far as circumstances allow. For shading and 

 protecting from dashing rains, small hand-glasses are useful. The 

 plants must not be allowed to grow too bushy ; three main stems are 

 quite sufficient, if good sized blooms are wanted. Frequent applications 

 of liquid manure will be found to benefit these also. 



Without doubt the system of cultivating Pansies in pots for spring 

 blooming has immense advantages over that in the open border, and I 

 would earnestly recommend all who have any wish to succeed at the 

 spring exhibitions to adopt it. The grower in pots is entirely inde- 

 pendent of his garden soil, if unsuitable, in a great degree of situation, 

 and of weather. It is very disheartening after the attention of months 

 in preparing for an exhibition to find that by a deluge of rain all hopes 

 of successful competition are blasted. In frame culture the plants are 

 safe from rain, wind, and weather. In conclusion I subjoin a list of 

 thirty varieties, which I know are really good, having grown most 

 of them, and had opportunities of seeing the remainder in bloom. 

 Intending purchasers may select from it with confidence : — 



Daek Selfs. 



