THE PLORAL WORLD AND aARDEN GUIDE. 195 



beautiful alpine plants which this enterprising firm have introduced 

 to this country. Ou several occasions at great exhibitions crowds of 

 appreciative eyes have tui-ned away from banks ablaze vrith pelar- 

 goniums to feast on the modest, but refined and lovely, alpine plants 

 from Messrs. Backhouse. A collection of alpines from this firm 

 formed one of the most notable episodes of the recent International 

 Exhibition, aud people asked each other when they came to criticise 

 the show in drawing-room gossip, " Did you see the wild flowers 

 from the nursery at York ?" 



We have on several occasions presented lists of hardy herbaceous 

 plants, and recommended our readers to take these useful subjects 

 in hand. We shall resume this pleasing task, and intend to continue 

 the work — pleasure is the proper word — of selecting useful and beau- 

 tiful subjects adapted to various kinds of soils, and to the peculiar 

 but accommodating climate of this country. Our lists will be given 

 under the general heading of The Choice GakdejS^, aud we shall 

 take care to introduce nothing but what really merits the appellation 

 "choice," be it herbaceous, ligneous, or otherwise. On the general 

 question we have nothing more to say ; we only request of our 

 readers that they will again think the matter over. Lovers of 

 bedding will have the best information we can give them on their 

 favourites, and lovers of other subjects will not be forgotten. 



HERBACEOUS CALCEOLARIAS. 



[NLY a few of the most privileged people know anything 

 about the magnificence of these plants when well 

 grown, and still fewer know the secret of growing 

 them properly. Considering myself a member of each 

 category, I propose to say a word about the magnifi- 

 cence of the plants, and next the secret of growiag them ; and 

 I first of all ask a question, Did you see the herbaceous calceolarias 

 at the International? You did. Well, would you not like to 

 grow such plants ? Easy enough, I can assure you. "Now let me 

 ask, have you seen the collections of these plants tbat have been, 

 shown at the several great exhibitions at Regent's Park during 

 tbe past five years ? You have. Well, again I ask, would you not 

 like to grow s^ch plants? Of course you would ; who would not ? 

 Ah! who would not? I should Jike to see the party who would 

 say " I would not," in reply to that modest question. But amongst 

 our thousands of readers there are of coui'se many who have never 

 seen good samples. Well, then, to such we say, imagine the flower 

 of any common shrubby calceolaria expanded to four times its present 

 size. Say a single flower of Aurea floribunda (which as a bedder of 

 course you know) is to be blown out till it has a purse large enough 

 to cover a crown-piece, and instead of being yellow it is to be deep 

 crimson, with buft" spots like a strawberry ; or soft magenta with 

 streaks of gold ; or pale fawn with crimson dots ; or rosy-red with 

 flecks and dusty spots of white ; or fiery orange with pencillings of fiery 



