206 THE GARDENER. [May 



thoroughly reliable data. Could not some of our experimental gardens have 

 solved this for us before they were abolished ? They certainly would have been 

 entitled to our lasting gratitude. I have to apologise for taking up your valu- 

 able space, and, with your permission, I purpose in a future paper giving notes 

 and observations bearing upon the above, which I have made from time to time, 



T. Sy. M. 

 [We will be glad to have the notes referred to. — Ed.] 



BALSAM-CULTURE. 



The common garden Balsam is now one of the most beautiful of our 

 summer decorative annuals. It is of East Indian origin, consequently 

 tender. Its position should be in the list of subtropicals. It, like most 

 flowers taken in hand by the florist, has been very much improved, 

 and none but the very best strains should be grown. There are still a 

 number of flimsy trashy varieties sold, of lanky habit and indescribable 

 colour, like the bulk of German ten-week stocks : therefore the first 

 consideration in starting to grow Balsams is to obtain good seed ; and 

 when a good strain is secured, seed should be saved from picked plants. 



It is no great exaggeration to call many of the better varieties 

 Camellia-flowered. The last two years we had some white flowers that 

 were quite reflexed in the petal, and imbricated, and perfectly double, 

 like a Camellia imbricata, from seed got at a respectable London house; 

 the colours very fine, various shades of red, pink, and almost crimson, 

 white, and mottled, as well as good purples, alongside of which com- 

 mon strains, or indeed no strain at all, would not have been looked at. 



The quality of flowers, however, depends much on culture. Under 

 the best management it will be observed that plants which have 

 yielded very fine flowers when in their progressive stages will, when 

 on the wane, produce flowers quite single, though the colours will 

 be still distinct : then is the time to secure seed — to obtain a crop of 

 good plump seed in this climate by planting out a selection of the 

 earliest plants, which have flowered in pots, on a bed of rich soil, in 

 the blaze of the sun in the open air. This is, however, not necessary to 

 seed saving, only it saves labour in watering and house-room ; and, 

 moreover, a Balsam in a seedy state is not ornamental indoors. The 

 Balsam should be quickly grown when taken in hand ; it requires 

 plenty of sun and air, so that it is not advisable to sow the seed very 

 early in the season. The plants should never be drawn by want of light 

 or room, and not starved for want of pot-room if large plants are 

 wanted. A large Balsam can be grown in a comparatively short time 

 under good conditions. A bright sun and plenty of air are essential to 

 mature the growth as it progresses. We therefore do not advise to sow 

 the seed before the first week in April for the first lot ; later sown will 



