THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 63 



then let it be gathered and separated, and sowed in pans or boxes, and be placed in a 

 cool frame or pit. The soil should be light and sandy, consisting partly of friable 

 loam, leaf-mould, and quite rotten manure. The seed will germinate in any sort of 

 soil, but it is proper to afford the young plants such sustenance as is adapted 

 for them, that they may be strong from the first. "When the plants have three 

 leaves in addition to the seed-leaves, carefully lift them out and pot tliem separately 

 in the smallest sized pots, and grow them in frames or cool greenhouse with care, 

 shifting them to larger and larger pots as they require it, till they are in 7-inch 

 or 9-inch pots, and keep tliem in those pots till they flower. The seed pans, or 

 boxes, will afford a succession of plants for months together, as some of the seeds 

 will be much slower in germinating than others, Ti:e piactice of sowing in the 

 open ground is adapted cnly for those who grow seedling roses on a large scale. 

 One important matter must be borne in mind, and that is, not to allow them to 

 flower until they have attained some size. We have had seedling roses flower when 

 only four iiiches high, and in 60-size pots, which of course is an injury to them, and 

 the flowers are no use. 



Plantesg PixcrsHiON Beds. — Stmrise. — Single plants such as Bijou geranium, 

 Cineraria maritima, and other striking subjects, may be put in the centres of small 

 pincushion bs-ds without violating good taste, for indeed such a method of using 

 them is usually very efi'ective. In describing the bedding at great gardens you wiU 

 find that we frequently speak of such beds as having " a dot " of so-and-so. It is 

 good taste to make the dot harmonize with the edging of the bed, that is, if the bed 

 has an edging. Thus, if the edging is yellowish, such as Arabis lucida variegata, 

 a dot of Cloth of Gold, or Mis. Pollock, is good ; if grey, such as Arabis afbida 

 variegata, then a grey dot such as Alma or Flower of Spring is good ; if silvery edge, 

 such as Cerastlum tomentosum, then a silvery centre such as Cineraria maritima 

 (large old plants are intensely silvery as compared with young plants), or Artemisia 

 argentea. Your query is not at all " insignificant : " it is rarely that an insignifi- 

 cant query reaches us. 



Pruxixg Vixes — Alpine Stkawbeery. — A. B. — You have pruned yours right 

 enough. There are many ways of pruning vines, but for ground vineries they 

 must be kept to single rods, and there are at the very base of the laterals dormant 

 buds that will make fruit even when the last visible bud is cut away. In any future 

 case you may remember a golden rule to keep vines to close rods, and that is, to 

 leave one bud only of each lateral ; no matter how long or how strong the lateral, 

 cut all away but one bud. Probably Schsenia oppositifolia may be obtained of Mr. 

 Thompson, Tavern Street, Ipswich ; he imports many good things from Swan 

 River. The Alpine Strawberry is a variety of the English wild strawberry, and the 

 best way to enjoy the fruit of it is to raise plants from seed every year, and destroy 

 them as soon as the fruit is gathered. 



Cuttings in Cocoa-nut Fibre. — A. I?.— Yes, the cuttings of verbenas, 

 petunias, geraniums, and indeed cuttings of almost any kind, will make roots very 

 quickly in this material. It is one of its peculiarities that it induces the formation 

 of roots more quickly than any other substance in which cuttings can be rooted. 



Chbtsanthemums. — Miss A. — You will find at page 376 of the December number 

 a list of the varieties that w^ere in the best collections at the London exhibitions. 

 The following are the very best in cultivation : Large I-ncu7'ved—Ahhe Passaglia, 

 AntonelH, Bella Donna, Beverley, Golden Beverley, Cherub, Dr. Brock, Duchess of 

 Buckingham, Florence Nightingale, General Bainbrigge, General Harding, General 

 Slade, Golden Ball, Gloria Mundi, Hereward, Her Majesty, lona, Jardin des Plantes, 

 John Salter, Lady Harding, Lady Carey, Lady Slade, Mr. Brunlees, Prince Alfred, 

 Prince^ of Wales, Robert James, St. Patrick. Large rejlexed — Alma, Atro Rubens, 

 Beaute du Nord, Chevalier Domage, Christine, White Christine, Golden Christine, 

 Garibaldi, Jewess, Julia Grisi, Julia Lagravere, Little Harry, Madame Poggi, 

 Pelagia, Progne, Titania. Large Anemotie-Jlowered — Empress, Fleur de Marie, 

 Gluck, King of Anemones, Lady Margaret, Louis Bouamy, Prince of Anemones, 

 Queen Margaret, Handel. Pompones— General Canrobert,' Bob, Aurora Boreahs, 

 Driu Drin, Fairest of the Fair, Helene, Madame Fould, Miss Talfourd, Mrs. Dix, Mrs. 

 Turner, Rose Trevenna, White Trevenna, Solomon, St. Thais, Riqniqui. Pompone 

 Anemones— Antonins, Astrea, Boule de Ncige, Firefly, Cedo NuUi, Lilac Cedo Nulli, 

 Madame Montcls, Mr. Shirley Hibberd, Mr. Astie, Reine des Anemones. There are 



