CULTIVATION OF THE VERBENA. Ill 



not be propagated sooner than January. To be sure, the 

 " stock " plants, to produce the cuttings, must be raised 

 the fall previous (in October or November), but such plants 

 become exhausted by spring and are inferior to later prop- 

 agations. 



In our own practice the necessities of our business re- 

 quire us to put in an uniform number of cuttings every two 

 weeks from November to April ; the last lot, which we pot 

 off at the end of April, usually making the finest plants. 



In raising Verbenas from seed, we sow thickly about the 

 first of February in shallow boxes, using a covering of 

 one-twelfth of an inch of some light compost, such as well- 

 rotted hbps or leaf mould, and keep them uniformly moist 

 in a temperature averaging 50 at night. In three or four 

 weeks from the lime of sowing, prick off the plants in- 

 to a similar compost, at a distance of an inch apart. 

 From this time they will grow freely, and may be planted 

 out in the open ground the first week in May. In plant- 

 ing out, we set them two feet apart in the rows and four 

 inches only between the plants, as, of course, on flowering 

 the largest proportion are pulled out, and only those 

 of superior merit are kept. 



It seems almost useless to particularize the varieties of 

 the Verbena, as the yearly improvement by new seedlings 

 will shortly be such that those we designate as the finest 

 to-day, will, perhaps, in five years be deemed unwor- 

 thy of cultivation. Still, in this, as in other flowers, it is 

 necessary to name a few of what are considered the best 

 of each class, so that in after years an estimate of the im- 

 provement can be made. Those named are mainly Amer- 

 ican seedlings, which, without doubt, are far in advance of 

 European varieties; our brighter sunshine and climate, 

 being more suitable to the development of seed, give us 

 great advantage in originating new varieties. 

 ~~Acme. Deep maroon, yellow centre; petal forming a 

 perfect circle. 



