HINTS ON GROWING CALCEOLARIAS. 



such we have in this country, which the Indians know all about; but the personal part 

 of the story is sheer gammon. 



The Great Palm-house at Kew. — A pretty picture, and a great work of art. But I 

 cannot help thinking how many comfortable cottages for the shivering and destitute poor, 

 of which England is full, the building of this royal toy would have made, and how much 

 comfort the same outlay of money would have bestowed in some such way. The Palm is 

 a great, grand, and rare plant; and so are the pyramids great, grand, and rare structures; 

 yet I don't see why people might not as well go to Africa, or India, to see the one. as to 

 Egypt to see the other. It is a luxury of which I cannot well see the utility in so much 

 expense. 



Thorough Draining the Soil. — Too valuable an article to be tucked away into the dou- 

 ble columns of the further end of the book. This experiment is a perfect one of the kind, 

 and an illustration of the benefits of thorough draining that must convince the most un- 

 believing in its efficacy. Where we have so great a field for the selection of soils at low 

 prices for agriculture, as in this country — much of which is of such composition that it 

 needs no such process to render it productive — its necessity is not so apparent; but wher- 

 ever soil is occupied, and at any price over fifty dollars an acre, which needs draining, and 

 it can be done for twenty-five or thirty dollars additional expense to the acre, there can 

 be no question of its economy. 



For gardening purposes, on heavy soils, it is almost indispensible. To be sure, there 

 are few pieces of land that will warrant the expense of Mr. Livermore's lot, under his 

 process; yet even that, on so small premises, will pay. Field crops have been doubled 

 by the ordinary simple process of under-draining alone; and not only doubled, but the 

 crops made certain in all seasons. Drain tile is now getting so plenty and cheap, that 

 good lands can well afford it, and poor lands of the proper kind, and well situated, can 

 be made to pay richly for the improvement. Jeffreys. 



PRACTICAL HINTS ON GROWING CALCEOLARIAS. 



BY A WORKING GARDENER. 



Among the many objects of delight, there are few more interesting to the cultivator of 

 plants, than the Calceolaria. I scarcely know what genus of plants is more interesting, 

 when we take into consideration their diversity of color, and the rich, vivid markings of 

 their corollas, and the airyness of their general appearance, when seen in full bloom. In 

 the rapid strides that horticultural science has made of late years in England, the culti- 

 vation of the Calceolaria has not been overlooked. 



The original old yellow species was shrubby; then the herbaceous sorts were introduc- 

 ed, of which yellow was the pervading color of the flowers, and from the latter, through 

 incessant perseverance, have sprung all the numberless varieties that the most fantastical 

 taste can desire. From the herbaceous yellew species, we have now varieties with the 

 white, cream, purple, lemon, and chocolate grounds, with their unique spots of brown, 

 maroon, and white; and lastly, the hybridizer's art has so nicely controlled color, that he 

 has produced the varieties with stripes equal to that produced in the Carnation; nor is 

 this all — for he has also so modified the ^brm of the flower, that its original long, ribbed 

 oystershcll appearance, has been replaced by the globular form of the cherry, having 

 row throats, and highly colored caps. 



