THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 5 



■wall " at Stoke Newington. It was further reported that this specimen 

 of spergula turf had been visited and criticised by various gardeners and 

 nurserymen, from Mr. Veitcla, at the top of the scale, to many worthy 

 men at the bottom, whose judgment was no less equal to the task of 

 deciding upon it than the horticultural grandees who had gone before. 

 At that juncture many requests were forwarded to the writer to admit 

 the public generally, and especially the readers of the Floral Wokld ; 

 but a cold and ungracious reply was given that it could not be done, and 

 no one regretted that more than the cold and ungracious party whose 

 avocations and cii'cumstances did not allow of indulging in sucli a levee. 

 But in the summer of 18G2 a photographer was set to work in the garden 

 at Newington, and the result was a series of pictures of some objects of 

 interest. It had been resolved to sweep away the spergula ; no, not sweep 

 it away, but remove it to another spot. Not because it had failed, but for 

 the sake of change, and for no other reason. It would not pay an experi- 

 mental cultivator, whose first object is to obtain useful knowledge by the 

 cultivation of plants, to devote an important space at the head of the 

 garden, to spergula after four years' trial had proved, in the words of 

 Messrs. Henderson's original announcement, that " it forms an unbroken 

 level of velvet-like surface, remaining uninjured in severe drought or 

 intense cold, and its fertility in blossom during the month of July (and 

 thence to October) is equally beautiful, being at that period studded over 

 with myriads of low, compact, salver-shaped, snow-white blossoms," 

 etc., etc., etc. So the spergula was removed, and appropriated to cover 

 the sides of a bank on which are planted some choice conifers — the very 

 same conifers that have been reported in these pages, as having been 

 grown in pots for winter furnishing, and which, having become too lai'ge 

 for the purpose, were turned cut of pots to grow into trees on the bank, 

 where, as required of them, they are doing their duty. But it was 

 thought the readers of the rLOK.\.L World might be allowed to peep at 

 that spergula lawn, which was in the form of a circle inclosing a bed of 

 rhododendron species; and as tlie photograph was available for the pur- 

 pose of presenting a picture to folks who now associate the writer and his 

 labours with '-auld lang syne " at tlieir own firesides, the picture was 

 engraved, and, presto ! here it is. 



This, then, is the magic ring. Spergula produced it by an incantation ; 

 and it has been the most interesting of all the subjects dealt with by the 

 present possessor, and it has furnished material for the fullest accounts 

 of spefgulas and their uses which have hitherto appeared in the horti- 

 cultural papers. 



It is but right to say, in the first place, that though Spergula pilifcra 

 proved such a decided success on that circle, its near relative, S. saginoides, 

 has proved far better. There are three of these turfing plants here on 

 banks, namely, the two first -mentioned and Sagina procumhens. They 

 are &11 good ; the last is ugly when in bloom, but beautiful at all other 

 times ; but sagina, like spergula, is least particular about soil of any, 

 and grows so rapidly that it may be trusted almost anywhere except on a 

 bed of clay, to make a lawn in one season. Another point to be mentioned 

 is that a raised platform, such as the magic ring, is the proper place to 

 grow it on, and by a parity of circumstances the banks on which they are 

 now placed to clothe the sloping sides are covered from top to bottom with 

 the most beautiful verdure. So if there is a raised space in a garden 



