534 GARDEN MANAGEMENT. 



1665. Self-tulips are those which are of one colour, such as white or yelbw, 

 showing no inclination to sport into other coloui's. 



1666. Polya7itIms.—DiyidQ the roots of the best plants intended for pre- 

 servation. This operation must be performed every year, or the flowers will 

 soon degenerate. Fresh soil and continual division is the only plan with all 

 florists' flowers which give out ofisets. The single varieties of polyanthus 

 alone are looked upon as florists' flowers ; and as these seed freely, an infinite 

 variety of polyanthuses may be obtained by those who will take the trouble to 

 select and sow seed. Late in autumn is the time for sowing ; for moderate sun- 

 light only is required to bring up the seed, and the young plants will not stand 

 the scorching sun of summer. Sow in boxes, or pans well drained, filled with 

 light rich mould. The seed must be very lightly covered,— indeed, it may 

 almost lie upon the surface. The boxes should be placed under glass, and 

 sparingly watered. They require no artificial heat. 



1667. Auricidas.— These may be propagated by offsets at any time during 

 autumn, but the eai'lier the better. New auricula borders may be made in 

 October, and old ones should be carefully gone over and renovated. Let it bo 

 remembered that the auricula delights in shade, and will not bear excessive 

 moisture. In planting offsets, be careful that the soil is well pressed round 

 the roots. In this respect the young plants will require attention for some 

 time. The more deUcate sorts of auriculas will not flourish so well as border 

 plants ; but the hardy varieties— the common purple, yellow, and green- 

 form very effective edgings to beds, and even when out of bloom they have a 

 pleasing appearance from the richness of their foliage. Of course offsets will 

 only perpetuate the same varieties. New sorts are to be obtained from seed, 

 which must be raised in a gentle heat, and spring seedlings so raised should 

 now be planted out. 



1668. The Pansy, or Heartsease.— The common Viola lutea, with Viola 

 grandiflora and Viola aracena, are the joint parents of the many beau- 

 tiful flowers known to us in these days under the general name of Pan- 

 sies. The histoiy of its cultivation is this :— In the year 1812 there was 

 liying, at Walton-on-Thames, the Lady Mary Bennett, daughter of the 

 Earl of Tankerville. The common heartsease was her favom-ite flower, and a 

 large space in her garden was devoted to the growth of it. Her gardener, 

 Mr. Richardson, with praiseworthy assiduity to please his mistress, selected 

 the best seed each year, and was pleased to find that he could thus obtain some 

 remarkably good varieties. These seedlings were shown by Mr. Richardson 

 to other florists, who became interested in his experiments, and in a fe>7 

 years the culture of the heartsease became popular ; it soon took rank among 

 florists' flowers. Fansies require little attention during the autumn months. 

 Indeed, those not intended for propagation may be dug up as soon as flowering 

 is over. The choicer varieties must be taken care of in order that their roots 

 may be divided, or cuttings taken from them in April or May ; for it is only 

 by such an annual renewal that degeneration can be prevented. 



1669. About the first week in October is a good time to make a selection of 



