29C HARDT HERBACEOUS FLOWERS. 



in open border, or if potted should be plunged in a frame, and 

 covered in same manner. Leaves would be a good covering, but 

 they make a harbor for mice, and mice are very fond of Pinks. 



They require a good, deep and well enriched soU. If potted, 

 the soil used should be weU-rotted sods, mixed with weU-rotted 

 old manure, in about equal proportions. If not sufficiently 

 porous to allow the water to pass readily through, it should be 

 lightened by adding sand sufficient to make it porous. Those 

 wintered in pots may be planted out in the open ground as soon 

 as the weather has become settled in spring. 



The Winter-flowering or Tree Carnation is a very pleasing 

 addition to this tribe of plants, enabling us to enjoy their beauty 

 and fragrance nearly all the year. In summer these require to 

 be kept in a cool and airy place, so that they may become 

 stocky and vigorous for winter blooming. In autumn they 

 should be removed to the green-house or window, and allowed 

 plenty of air, not forcing them forward rapidly, but permitting 

 them to come into bloom without any crowding. 



DiANTHUs Barbatus. — The Sweet William. — There are now 

 some beautiful strains of this much-admired flower. The Aurictda- 

 flowered is one of the most showy and handsomely marked. It 

 is easily raised from seed, and choice varieties may be perpetuated 

 by layering or dividing the roots. It will flourish in any good, 

 weU-drained garden soil, but in some parts of the country, where 

 there is but little snow, will require winter protection. 



Digitalis. — The Foxglove. — These are beautiful ornamental 

 plants. The large thimble-shaped flowers are produced in dense 

 spikes, three and four feet high, of various colors, purple, red, 

 rose, and white, very neatly marked with minute dots within 

 the beU. Some of the varieties are perennial, but those usually 

 grown in our gardens are biennial, requiring to be raised from 

 seed every year, in order to keep a succession of flowering plants. 

 A new strain, known as the Gloxinia-flowered, is much admired, 

 the flowers bearing a marked resemblance to those of the Gloxinia. 

 They are all poisonous plants if taken into the system ; and an 



