46 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



HICTNUS. 



With these I shall wind up, though I still omit many good sub- 

 jects. But to pass over the castor oil plants would be to leave the 

 part of Hamlet out of the play which bears that name (a favourite 

 expression with the English people). To grow the Eicinus is as 

 easy as the growing of balsams and asters, but it is very advisable 

 to set about sowing the seeds early, in order to have the plants a 

 good size before planting them out, for size is everything. The seeds 

 may be sown any time during February or March, and if extra large 

 plants are required, the sowing should be made the first week in 

 February. This, however, depends on the amount of glass at com- 

 mand. Where glass is limited, the cultivator had best not sow till 

 the middle of March ; then, as the plants require more room, some 

 of the ordinary inhabitants of the house will be- removed in their 

 favour. Sow thinly in shallow pans, use a light, rich, leafy soil, 

 plunge in a heat of 60' to 70% keep close in a humid atmosphere, 

 and as soon as large enough to handle, prick off into 60-sized pots 

 singly. Thumb pots are not large enough for them, even at the first 

 start!^ Shift on as required, and by the end of May you will have 

 fine plants. The soil of the bed for them must be rich, friable, and 

 substantial, and the position should be sheltered. 



B. sanguinea, a grand variety, attaining a gigantic size, the stems 

 and young leaves crimson. 



Fi. Olermanni, superb habit, and growing full six feet high. 



M. communis. — The common variety is not to be despised. 



B. africanus alhidus. — Yery striking in character, the leaves and 

 stems marked with white lines. 



B. viridis. — This has green fruit and red stems, fine. 



Those who can obtain seed (true) of B. Bourhonensis arhoreiis, 

 and B. lividus, will find them remarkably beautiful. But probably 

 seed of these are not in the trade. 



To finish up, I will state a fact which will perhaps startle some 

 of the readers. It is this (and it is a fact), that if seeds of castor 

 oil are sown in a rich, light, sunny border on the l(tth of May (or 

 thereabout), and left alone, the plants will be ten feet high before 

 the summer is over, I dare say I shall not obtain a testimonial in 

 silver for that startling revelation (the result of experiment), but I 

 shall be quite content to have aided so far in promoting the beauty 

 of the English garden. 



A PavAL TO Ax^ECTOCHiLus SETACEUS.— The only hardy plant I have yet seen 

 M-hich approaches the tracery of this exquisitely marked plant — whose leaves have 

 not unaptly been compared to veins of gold flowing over a textm-e of green velvet — 

 is the golden-striped variety of the greater Periwinkle {Vhica major), whose dark 

 green leaves during the early spring and summer months, are very finely marked 

 ^ith golden veins extending over their entire surface. The plant being perfectly 

 Lardy, thriving in ordinary soil, and vegetating early, will be found valuable for 

 picturesque effect amongst''early-forced plants in the conservatory and greenhouse, 

 or as portable specimens in pots for the open borders, either singly or otherwise. Its 

 varieo^ation is, in many instances, so beautifully distinct as to be adapted for the 

 earlie'st bouquets of spring flowers. I find it entered in ]Mr. Salter's catalogue as 

 Vmca major fol. reticulata. — W. W. 



