THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



73 



bring them to perfection. "We have 

 progressed so far in this branch of 

 the bedding system that we can afford 

 to throw out of our lists the purple 

 orach altogether, for it i3 quite 

 eclipsed by Amaranthus melancho- 

 licus, which is of neater habit, endures 

 to the close of the season, and is richer 

 and more uniform in colour. We can 

 now add another exquisitely coloured 

 subject, namely, Amaranthus bicolor, 

 which has ovate leaves, an iuch and a 

 half long. At the extreme end, the 

 leaf is of a rich chocolate crimson 

 colour, and the remainder of the leaf 

 and the footstalk are of a glowing 

 crimson quite transparent, and when 

 the sun shines, as brilliant as coloured 

 glass. To manage these, the Ama- 

 ranths, it is necessary to sow the 

 seed early in heat, and get the plants 

 forward with the same treatment as 

 seedling Lobelias, the plants to be 

 very carefully hardened before being 

 put out, and then bedded in a rich 

 light soil. Coleus Verschaffelti has 

 become the most popular of all the 

 foliage bedders, and it is unques- 

 tionably a magnificent thing when 

 well done. For amateurs the best 

 plan of procedure is to keep a few 

 old plants in the stove or warm green- 

 house to cut from in spring. If there 

 is no convenience for keeping stove 

 plants, buy in from the nurseries at 

 six shillings a dozen. Early in the 

 spring put the plants in a frame over 

 a bed of fermenting dung, and cut 

 their side-shoots as fast as they grow 

 to the length of an inch and a half, 

 and strike these singly in thumb-pots 

 in the same bed, using a rich sandy 

 compost from the first. When planted 

 out the soil can scarcely be too rich 

 for this plant, and an open, sunny 

 position is indispensable. It is not 

 generally known that perillas strike 

 from cuttings in May without heat in 

 the greenhouse as readily as mint or 

 cerastium, and the plants topped for 

 cuttings soon throw out vigorous 

 shoots from the base, and make 

 superb masses for first and second 

 lines in ribbons. It is very fortunate 

 that we have now some superb golden- 

 leaved geraniums of so hardy a nature 

 as to be adapted for bedding under 



any ordinary circumstances. Cloth 

 of Gold, Golden Fleece, and Gold Leaf 

 are invaluable for foliage patterns, and 

 the first of the three is decidedly the 

 best. With the coloured amaranths 

 and coleus judiciously disposed in the 

 same compartment, Cloth of Gold 

 tells superbly. Many of the tri- 

 color-leaved geraniums are equally 

 adapted for out-door work, if planted 

 in sheltered positions in beds mode- 

 rately enriched with rotten dung and 

 leaf-mould. As we have added to the 

 lists of variegated plants some that 

 have proved serviceable, we thought 

 it right to pursue the same course 

 with th.eGold.en Balm, which has been 

 so greatly admired in our garden for 

 many years past. This we have 

 handed over to Messrs. Carter and 

 Co. to propagate, and from them 

 it may be obtained this spring 

 in any quantity. Where it can be 

 left in the ground, it makes a magni- 

 ficent belt or edging the second season, 

 and the way to manage it is to cut it 

 down close as soon as the brilliant 

 orange colour of its leaves begins to 

 decline. During May and June it is 

 remarkably rich in colour, but in the 

 later months it acquires a dull green 

 hue, unless cut down ; but its appear- 

 ance then is of less consequence as 

 there are so many good subjects that 

 can be relied on for late effects, but 

 there is nothing so bright as this in 

 the early part of the season. While 

 on this subject we must again call at- 

 tention to Meteor fuchsia as a fine 

 subject for grouping in masses, which 

 are to give effect by foliage instead of 

 flowers. We made up a bed of Me- 

 teor and the ancuba-leaved fuchsia 

 last season, and it was the admiration 

 of many of the best judges of gar- 

 den colouring. Mr. Salter has some 

 new variegated fuchsias, among them 

 a variegated gracilis, which is a 

 first-rate bedder. The new fuchsia, 

 " Pillar of Gold," will be useful for 

 similar purposes. Among Mr. Sal- 

 ter's novelties is a new variety of 

 Oxalis corniculata, with dashes _ of 

 rose-crimson on the leaves, which 

 will work in admirably in elaborate 

 patterns. S. H. 



