SCROPHULARIACE.-E. 219 



types we must call to our aid species that have as yet 

 received no attention in this way. By doing so we may ex- 

 pect novelty in colours, habit, and stature, and it may be in 

 hardiness also, which we do not possess but in the degree 

 offered by the races contemplated at present Florists have 

 accomplished apparently more difficult tasks than that I have 

 briefly hinted at, and they may do this if they are not entirely 

 wedded to the trivial varieties that are annually sent out under 

 new names, which are often their greatest distinction, and may 

 have as their reward " choice hybrids " indeed, for which the 

 purchasers will be truly grateful. It would be useless in a 

 work like this to cumber it with lists or even allusions to pop- 

 ular varieties ; it will be sufficient to remark that they are 

 worthy of cultivation in every garden, and are indispensable 

 for mixed borders and the adornment of shrubberies. They 

 are most easily cultivated in so far as relates to the varieties 

 and many species ; but it must be admitted that a few of the 

 latter are difficult to keep in cultivation, a circumstance that 

 accounts for their rarity in even botanical gardens, and their 

 almost total absence from private ones. The requirements of 

 these will be dealt with when they turn up in the selection, 

 but the general culture of the others will be best given here. 

 Pentstemons like a good rich soil and a good open sunny ex- 

 posure to grow in, and the ground should be well dug early 

 and deep, so as to insure thorough pulverisation. Many 

 plants in mild warm localities will endure the winter and flower 

 early and well the following year, but the flowers deteriorate 

 in quality, and the duration of the blooming period is shorter, 

 or is not so profuse if prolonged. The best late summer and 

 autumn display is procured from cuttings struck the previous 

 autumn. The cuttings are easily managed, if a cold frame or 

 hand-light can be devoted to their use, and they should be 

 treated in exactly the same way as shrubby Calceolarias, only 

 they must, if possible, be put in earlier. As early as cuttings 

 can be got in September, they may be taken after being made, 

 which is a simple matter, consisting in the removal clean away 

 of one or two pairs of the lower leaves, depending on the 

 length between the joints, and cutting clean across close to the 

 lowest joint, and inserted in sandy soil in the frame or in pots 

 or boxes. With amateurs and others requiring small supplies, 

 they will be best in pots or boxes, unless a small hand-glass 

 may be devoted to them. Give a slight watering after the 

 cuttings are inserted, which will settle the soil about them; 

 and the after-treatment consists in keeping the frame or glass 

 close till they begin to callus, and shade when the sun is bright 



