146 THE TLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



cut rather hard back to keep them compact. The pieces taken from 

 the plants may be laid in very thickly in trenches, and if supplied 

 with water the greater portion of the cuttings will take root, and 

 next spring bloom freely. The Arabis should be trimmed in much 

 the same manner, and the cuttings laid in trenches with the leaves 

 just above the surface, as they strike freely and soon form good tufts. 

 On the other hand, if they are not cut back they soon become so 

 ungainly as to be most difficult to plant neatly. The Cerastium 

 should have a few of the longest shoots removed, and in a month or 

 so after it has been planted, cut it nearly level with the ground, and 

 in a short time it will break freely and form dense tufts by the 

 autu an. Wallflowers must be pruned moderately, and planted about 

 eight inches apart in lines, quite fifteen inches from each other, and 

 by the autumn they may be expected to form nice bushes. The soil 

 should be rather poor, as it promotes the production of firm, short- 

 jointed wood, which is better able to withstand the adverse influences 

 of a sevei-e winter, than soft shoots full of sap. It is not a good 

 practice to keep for bedding purposes Wallflowers that are of too 

 great age, but when from two to three years old they produce a finer 

 and more regular display of flowers, than those raised from seed sown 

 the previous summer. 



Silenes, Forget-me-nots, and Wallflowers from which it is desired 

 to save seed, should be lifted with as little disturbance as possible, 

 and be planted in an open situation. When the seed is ripe and 

 gathered pull them up, and remove to the rubbish heap. 



OKCHIDS FOE EVERYBODY. 



Gardener to J. Day, Esq., Tottenham. 



j"]S" previous communications I have directed the attention 

 of the readers of the Floral World to a few special 

 classes of orchidaceous plants, and I now intend to 

 make a selection of a few species that should be grown 

 in all gardens in which the conveniences exist for their 

 cultivation. In this selection I shall include none but those which 

 are free-floweriug, attractive, not difficult of cultivation, and, more- 

 over, are comparatively cheap. The selection may be improved 

 somewhat by including a few of the more expensive kinds ; but as 

 those for whom this is written will not be disposed to expend ten 

 or twenty guineas in the purchase of a single plant, I shall not 

 say anything about them ; indeed, I should not advise anyone to 

 purchase the expensive kinds until they are tolerably well acquainted 

 with the principles of orchid culture, some of the cheapest are, 

 however, the most beautiful, and I have no hesitation in saying that 

 in the immense collection now under my charge, comprising hundreds 



