THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE 



211 



that was not free, if in a healthy growth at all, though I have bred 

 them for several years, my attention being first directed to thetn in 

 1846, and I have been a breeder of petunias more or less ever since, 

 according to conveniences. Indeed, so confident have I been of 

 the strain of flowers I should have, from my own hybridizing, that 

 in 1857 I ventured to plant a bed in a conspicuous position wholly 

 of seedlings. Although they differed in shape of bloom, they were 

 all purples. And were I but a cottager, and nothing but my window 

 for the raising of seeds, I should have a batch of seedling petunias ; 

 for the scent, though peculiar in many, is very sweet in others, and 

 for bloom there is a succession from June until frost puts an end to 

 it. But for those who have not convenience or practice in breeding 



named varieties of course are best ; and as the newest flowers are 

 easily to be obtained, and are moderate in price, and are easily pro- 

 pagated, there is no excuse for not having a sufficient supply of the 

 very best. But then it is said by some there is not a sufficient 

 mass of bloom, at one time, to make it a bedding favourite. Is this 

 the fault of the plant ? I unhesitatingly answer, No. What, then, 

 18 it ? — what makes them in a wet season run so much to growth, 

 or in a dry season die off by exhaustion ? 



Take a set of plants, and plant them in a light compost, say, for 

 instance, in a border that has been enriched with decayed manure or 

 a quantity of leaf-mould, supply plenty of water, and if the plants 

 are trained perpendicularly, they will soon be the same height as 

 yourself. Again, if dry weather, the foliage will become small and 



July. 



