114 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



their extremities pinched off, and this will add much to their 

 appearance. 



Thunbergia alata. — The popular name of this pretty annual 

 among gardeners is Black-eyed Susan. It is not, strictly speaking, 

 an annual, but as it succeeds well when treated as such, and as it is 

 a most desirable addition to the flower garden, we have deemed 

 it advisable to introduce it here. There are many plants which are 

 treated in this country as annuals, which are in reality perennial in 

 their native soil. Even the sweet mignonette, if kept during the 

 winter in a greenhouse, will preserve a shrubby habit of growth, 

 and may, by proper care and treatment, be made to last for several 

 years. So in this respect we may admit the Thunbergia alata among 

 the number of our tender annuals. This plant requires rather more 

 attention than those which we have already mentioned. The seeds 

 should be sown in pots filled with soil composed of one-half leaf- 

 mould, and the other half sand ; at the bottom of the pots there 

 must be ample provision for drainage, for the soil requires to be 

 kept constantly moist ; it must not, however, be either saturated 

 with water, or ever allowed to become dry, for in each case the 

 plants are almost sure to die off. When the plants are large enough, 

 they should be moved into larger pots, and, after they have gained 

 strength, planted out in May. If it is intended to treat this as a 

 climber, it must be trained to a stick or on a trellis ; but if a bushy 

 habit of growth is desired, this can be obtained by pinching off the 

 extremities of the shoots and preventing their development. It may 

 also be pegged down and made to trail over the surface of the ground 

 in the same way as verbenas and petunias are sometimes treated. 



Tropwolum canariense or peregrinum. — This is a most desirable 

 and one of the most beautiful climbing annuals which has been 

 introduced to the English flower garden, and the great care with 

 which it is cultivated renders it a favourite with all who are fond of 

 a garden. The soil in which it delights most is a fine sandy loam, 

 vegetable, or what is generally called leaf-mould, and plenty of silver 

 sand. The seeds are to be sown in a flower-pot or seed-pan, and 

 covered about half an inch with finely-sifted leaf-mould and sand. 

 They should then be placed in the frame and watered rather 

 sparingly at first ; but wheu the plants begin to show themselves, 

 the allowance of water may be increased a little, and a more liberal 

 supply given when the plants are fully started in their growth ; the 

 pots, however, must be well drained. When the plants have shed 

 the seed envelope, and fully developed the cotyledons or seminal 

 leaves, they should be transplanted singly into small sixty pots 

 filled with soil similar to what is recommended above. They will 

 soon begin to push and fill the pot with roots, and when this is the 

 case, they must be re-potted into what are called forty-eight-sized 

 pots. When they have attained about six or eight inches in length, 

 they begin to show a disposition to entwine themselves to some 

 support ; they must then be severally furnished with a single stake, 

 to which they may either be tied or allowed to attach themselves. 

 As they gain strength and push out a long straggling shoot, they 

 must be gradually hardened off, and in the end of May or beginning 



