THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 187 



trhey caiiYe up as tliick as liail, 'every seed must haVe grown, but as I 

 thought so little of thein I gave more than half of theiti away, and I'll 

 tell you what I did with the other half I planted them in the 

 ■coldest, stiffest, wettest, and most unworkable clay it was ever my 

 misfortune to have anything to do with; a clay on wdiich scotch thistles 

 •only grew to the height of eight inches, and Morning Glories only ran 

 ■about eighteen. A great many flower seeds refused to grow at all, and 

 those which did grow, with a few exceptions, did little good. A few 

 strawberry plants that I found on the ground when I moved here are 

 just living, but not increasing, while some from the same plot that I 

 t)ransplanted into a more suitable soil grew so rampant that they 

 would soon have run my Wilson's out of the field altogether if I had 

 allowed them. Such was the soil in which I planted those Zinnias, 

 atad yet they have grown to be the most splendid specimens I ever 

 saw, double as Dahlias, with a depth of about two inches from the 

 flower stalk to its crown, and soardely an inferior specimen among 

 tliem. Now, was it tlie seed, or was it the soil that produced this 

 unusual perfection ? Have any of my readers had a similar experience ? 



It may be interesting to some amateurs to know that I have this 

 •year in this locality succeeded and been much pleased with the 

 Eicinus, Datura, and Canary Creeper. The latter appears to be hardy, 

 grows rapidly, ■ spreads and -extends itself immensely, so that a few 

 slants would cover a summer arbor, and produce a profusion of flowers 

 in uninterrupted succession till cut down by frost. 



The Eicinus produces no flowers, but its large eight to ten lobed, 

 deeply cut, star-like glossy leaves with serrated edges, and the brighter 

 gloss and deeper green of the newly opening lobes, all spreading out 

 symmetrically from the main stalk, are beautiful in their regularity ; 

 and the whole plant strong, healthy looking and vigorous in its growth, 

 is a striking object when planted alone, as it always should be, or in 

 the centre of a lawn. They have attained a height of four feet with 

 me, and would certainly grow much larger in a warmer climate. 



The Datura is evidently more tender than either of the above, 

 still, although a perennial, I have succeeded in obtaining flowers the 

 first season from the seed ; they were however only just permitted 

 lully to expand before being nipped l)y the frost. The size of flowers 

 is extraordinary, and their development curious, presenting before 

 •being fully opened out very much the appearance of an old iashioued 



