TO THE FLOWER GARDEN. 137 



care except so far as potting the tender and planting out the 

 hardier sorts. A few plants should be kept in small pots for 

 facility of preservation during the winter, when the exposed 

 plants are sometimes killed. The few that are necessary in 

 a garden should be selected while in bloom, for there is little 

 difference between many of them. The majointy have yellow 

 Howers ; a few are white or red, or some shade between red 

 and yellow. 



H'ELIAXTHUS. Sunflower. [Compositae.l There are 

 two kinds of Sunflower worth cultivating; the double-flowered 

 jierennial kind {H. inultiflorus), which grows in common soil, 

 and is increased by division ; and the annual [H. annuiis), of 

 which there are tall, dwarf, and what are called single and 

 double-flowered varieties. This almost discarded but ancient 

 ornament of British gardens ought to be cultivated for its 

 usefulness, if not for its beauty ; but even in respect of this 

 latter quality there are many occupants of large borders far 

 less entitled to notice. The seed of the Sunflower is full of 

 vegetable oil, which may be pressed out with less labour than 

 that from rape or linseed ; and the oil-cake is fattening to 

 cattle. The seed without crushing is highly nourishing to 

 poultry, and is therefore of service in the farmyard. The 

 plant is very prolific, and probably yields more seed than 

 anything that would occupy the same room. It is, however, 

 desirable that the seed should ripen early, for which object 

 the young plants should be raised on a gentle hotbed in A])iil, 

 where they should be allowed to grow, with plenty of light 

 and air, to prevent their drawing up, until the middle of May, 

 when they may be planted in the borders, or, if for their pro- 

 duce, three feet apart in rows four feet from each otlier. 

 When they show bloom let all but the first half-dozen flower-" 

 heads be picked off, and that half-dozen will be the finer for it. 

 Let the heads of seeds be gathered as soon as the outer seeds 

 on the head turn black, and lay the heads in a box or on a 

 cloth to catch the loose seeds. It is necessary to scare away 

 birds when the seeds begin to ripen. 



HELICHRYSUM. [Composite.] A handsome race of 

 plants, producing " everlasting " flowers. The group formerly 

 so named is now divided into genera, to which the names 

 Aphelexis, Astelma, and Fhcenocoma are applied. The !?pecies 



