THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 15 



I will say that vre should never name this subject without giving the 

 gardeners of Paris their full due. I could say somethiug more about 

 English practices that originated in France, and were simply im- 

 ported, but it is enough now that I should remind the reader that this 

 practice is not English born, though the English have had to adapt 

 it to their climate and other circumstances. 



One of the most important families from which to select plants 

 remarkable for their fine foliage is the Solanum. Here we have 

 huge palmate, bold angled, densely pubescent leaves, variously 

 coloured with silvery or rosy veins, with silvery or purple stalks, the 

 plants presenting magnificent outlines, and rendering a wonderful 

 diversification of the ordinary aspects of the English tlower garden. 

 The seeds of the Solanums should be sown in heat in January, and 

 should be grown on under glass till June, and then be planted out 

 for the season. It is best, as a rule, to allow them to perish in the 

 beds, and raise a fresh supply from seeds, for they are not worth 

 taking up for the winter. 



SOLANUMS. 



8. (jiganteum, a shrubby species, with spinous leaves, and much 

 silvery tomentum on the under side. Grows well in the open 

 ground, and if grown freely in the early part of the season it bears 

 scarlet berries. 



S. aiiriculatum. — A strong-growing shrub, with large, handsome 

 leaves and violet flowers, which are scarcely perceptible. It grows 

 freely, and is highly ornamental. 



S. marginatum. — A splendid species, the young leaves of which are 

 quite frosted ; w^hen older the leaves are greenish white. AVhen 

 planted in a mass it is peculiarly rich and pleasing. 



^S*. ariiazonicum. — A fine species of rather small growth, the 

 leaves bronzed on the upper side, and silvery on the under side. 

 The flowers are large and handsome, and are abundantly produced 

 in the open air. 



S. robustum. — This is unquestionably the finest of all ; the leaves 

 are large, and quite covered with cinnamon brown spines. A single 

 plant makes a good show in a mixed bed or border, but clumps of 

 half a dozen each have the best effect. 



S. pyracantha. — Yery elegant pinnate leaves with orange-coloured 

 midrib, and fiery red spines. The flowers are bright blue. It 

 grows well when planted out, and is one of the most striking of 

 sub-tropical plants in cultivation. 



I select the foregoing six as likely to suffice for the majority of 

 amateurs, and they can all be raised from seed easily procurable from 

 any first-class seedsman. The seeds should be sown two inches 

 apart, in shallow pans filled with a mixture consisting of equal parts 

 light loam and leaf-mould, w^ith some slight addition of silver 

 sand to keep the soil porous. The seed pans must be placed in 

 a steady heat of 70', and the soil be kept moderately moist. When 

 the plants appear, give water cautiously to prevent any excess, and 

 occasionally sprinkle on the soil amongst them a pinch of quite dry 

 silver sand. "When they begin to grow freely, regular watering and 



