108 VILLA GARDENING parti 



the Antirrhinum or Snapdragon should be in every garden, and the 

 I^resent race, which has undergone the attentions of the florist, 

 is immeasiu'ably superior to anything we possessed years ago in 

 old-fashioned gardens. The colours are so various, and the plants 

 flower so freely, that they are indispensable to those whose 

 means are limited, and yet like to see their borders gay and bright 

 all the summer and well up into the autumn ; or if the seeds are 

 cut off", the Antirrhinum never seems to become exhausted, crop 

 after crop of blossoms being thrown ott' with great rapidity. It is 

 well to have a good collection of choice-named sorts, but it is by 

 no means necessary, for the seedlings are good enough for those 

 who only want a pretty garden, and a good collection requires time 

 and talent to keep together and perpetuate by frequently taking 

 cuttings. Unless this is done the old plants have a habit of going 

 ofl" in the winter, not because they are not hardy enough to stand 

 a considerable amount of cold, but perhaps exhaustion after a long 

 blooming season may have something to do with it. At any rate 

 a good-named collection requires more care than seedlings, and those 

 who only require a bright bed or border will sow seed. 



Cuttings may be taken any time in summer when young shoots 

 can be obtained, and they strike readily under handlights in a 

 shady corner, or in pots in a close frame in sandy soil. 



Solving Seed. — The seeds may either be sown in August in the 

 open border, or in spring under glass. In the former case they 

 may remain in the seed bed till April, and then be transplanted to 

 their blooming quarters. In the latter alternative, the little plants 

 should be pricked oft' when large enough, and be planted out in 

 April or May. There are two distinct races — one grows tall on good 

 soil — from 2 feet to 3 feet high, and the other, the Tom Thumb 

 section, is only a few inches high. Though both are beautiful for 

 ordinary purposes in the garden, and for the production of large 

 quantities of bright-coloured flowers for cutting, the tall section is 

 the most useful. The Antirrhinum might be utilised for covering 

 any banks in the wild garden, or for rajndly clothing with beauty 

 waste corners anywhere, either by scattering seeds over the site in 

 August, or sowing the seeds elsewhere then and transplanting 

 in spring. Following a precedent I set in the case of the Pent- 

 stemons, I give a list of a few good varieties : — Alba perfecta, white 

 and rose ; Admii-al, orange and scarlet ; Blanche, white, tipped 

 yellow; Ambassador, purple and orange ; Brilliant, crimson; Charle- 

 magne, yellow ; Cyprus, crimson and lemon ; Contrast, dark crimson ; 

 Curiosity, orange and crimson ; Dan Hope, pale yellow ; Donation, 

 crimson, white tube; Dr. Greville, rose and bufi"; Emblem, white, 

 magenta, and lemon ; Fascination, white, rose, and lemon ; Harle- 



