102 TffE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



the front to be clipped box or in any case a bold and substantial stone 

 edging ; next u ithin tliat, as a lining, a plank, on edge ; then a 

 given breadtli of cocoa-nut fibre for plunging; next a plank on 

 edge as before, and then, beyond that, the undisturbed soil of the 

 garden, with a background of evergreens, etc., etc. 



"When all this is done, there mus^t be established a regular system 

 of cultivation to keep the beds supplied. If this cannot be done, 

 better no plunging at all. However, I advisee that one or two 

 borders only be tried at first, and the system of growing will be 

 found to be more simple than appears; and, in fact, its chief charac- 

 teristic is that it is a system ; every separate batch of plants must be 

 prepared to come on in its proper time, with no excessive glut to 

 bewilder the cultivator at any time, and never a deficiency of good 

 things to make a cheerful display at any time in the whole round of 

 the year. 



I must now pause, but I wall just hint that the principal subjects 

 for plunging are, for early spring. Snowdrops, Crocuses, Hyacinths, 

 and Tulips ; for late spring, yellow Alyssum, white Iberis, rosy 

 Aubrietia, sparkling Dielytra. Tot early summer, Stocks, Eoses 

 brought on in pits or by slow forcing, Cytisus, Deutzias flowered 

 in cold pits, Rhododendrons, and a few of the more showy annuals 

 grown in frames ; for succession, Geraniums, Calceolarias, and all 

 the rest of the summer, flowers ; for September, Sedum fabarium ; 

 for October, British ferns, then all fresh and bright, with any odds 

 and ends of colour to light them up ; for November, Chrysanthe- 

 mums ; for December, Ivies, Conifers, and Berry-bearing Shrubs, 

 and so on to the spring bulbs again. But this part of the subject 

 must be enlarged upon, and the next task will be to work out a 

 good Plunger's Catalogue, which I shall attempt next month. 



THE AUEICULA.. * 



BT JOHN WALSH. 



Chaptee III. — The Pink and Peime eoe Geowth and Blooming. 



NE of the most interesting things to be learnt on Auricula 

 growing is the waywardness of the flower itself; like 

 true nobility, it has individual character and a will of 

 its own. The beginner, who is now looking for blooms 

 of his best varieties, must not be surprised if some that 

 are described as grey-edged make their appearance with edges of 

 green ; if some that are described as having the body colour heavily 

 laid on and sharply defined, appear with a blurry and irregular 

 colouring ; and if some of the most constant of all appear " pin- 

 eyed," that is, with the stamens showing above the tube. But I 

 find I am insensibly driving into a groove that the Editor begged 

 me to keep out of; he said to me, " Let the reader have your science 

 with as small an admixture as possible of technicalities, for terms 



