CULTURE OP RHODANTHE MANGLESII. 303 



of flowers possessing such merit there were 6774. This speaks volumes 

 for the increasing taste in favour of tliis charming tribe of flowers : 

 and such is tlie impetus given, that I anticipate a much greater advance 

 the coming season. 



My feeble efforts shall be exerted to accomplish this object, in which 

 I doubt not, from wliat I witnessed at the exhibitions I attended, I shall 

 have the co-operation of my brother florists. Attention to one parti- 

 cular should now be given, it being the planting season ; that is, sell 

 at low prices, and thus put possession within the power of the many. 



I have been much delighted in attempts to raise seedlings, and satis- 

 factory success lias followed ; and desirous to encourage many others 

 to similar pursuit, I have drawn up the following particulars of my 

 practice. 



I live in a rather northern county, and found it difficult in some 

 seasons to obtain kipe seed, an excess of moisture in tiie seed-vessel 

 causing mildew and rotting the seeds. To obviate tliis injury, I adopted 

 the following method, and for seven years it has fully succeeded. 



As soon as the petals fell off I procured a piece of wood two inches 

 broad and four inches long, and at one end I made a niche with a saw 

 upwards of one inch deep, sufficient to hold firmly a square of glass six 

 inches by four or five, and at the other end cut a hole about three- 

 quarters of an inch square. I tlien put a carnation stick through the 

 square hole, and stuck it down near the bulb, and let the square of glass 

 be within two inches of the top of the pericarpium, which prevented 

 the wet from lodging in it. This is easily done by having holes bored 

 in the stick every two inches, through which a nail or piece of wire can 

 be inserted to prevent the glass from touciiing the seed-vessel. I then 

 got a piece of metallic wire and fastened the stem to the stick to pre- 

 vent it from moving from the centre of the glass, and examined each 

 from time to time. As the stem will generally grow two or more 

 inches, when it is the case I raise the glass so as to be tlie prescribed 

 height. By following out this plan I was enabled to ripen a consider- 

 able number of pods from very valuable and first-rate varieties, witliout 

 losing one. 



The best time for sowing seed is the first week in February, in pots, 

 which I find much better than solving it the first week in January, as 

 stated by me in a former article. The pots must be placed in a cold 

 frame until the middle or latter end of April, and then plunged in soil 

 and placed in a good situation in the open garden. By attending to 

 this, the practitioner will find that his hopes will not be blighted, and 

 in due time he may be able to enjoy the satisfaction of having seedling 

 breeders. 



CULTURE OF RHODANTHE MANGLESH. 



BY A FLOWER GARDENER. 



I BEG to call the attention of your readers to the beautiful Rhodanthe 

 IManglesii, an annual which is generally classed among tiie tender ones, 

 and on that account does not arrive at the perfection it otherwise would. 



