10 



MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



• laty the following articles on the culture of several of our finest species of 

 ornamental plants, and thus they trust new incentives may be given to their 

 cultivation and another year be productive of satisfactory results : — 



The Culture of the Phlox, by Joseph Breck. 



The Culture of the Gladiolus, by the Chairman. 



The Culture of the Japan Lily, by C. M. Hovey. 



The Culture of the Rose, by W. J. Underwood. 



The Culture of the Aster, by the Chairman. 



The Culture of Gloxinias and Achimenes, by James McTear. 



The Cultivation of our Native Plants, by the Chairman. 



REMARKS ON THE BEST VARIETIES OF THE PHLOX. 



BY JOSEPH BRECK. 



Dear Sir,— Boston, JSTov. 20, 1858. 



According to your request, I herewith furnish you with a select list of 

 some of the most desirable varieties of Phlox now in my collection. Some 

 of these varieties have been exhibited, and very much admired, at the 

 weekly exhibitions of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society during the 

 last summer, wiiile others, imported last spring and flowering late, have 

 been seen only in my garden at Brighton. 



The task is a difficult one, considering the large collection from which 

 they have been selected. Without reference to the vernal varieties, which 

 are beautiful in their season, adding grace and life to the flower garden 

 during the month of May, and after rejecting a multitude of ordinary and 

 passable varieties heretofore considered fine, I have retained upwards of one 

 hundred and fifty sorts, all diflfering in time of flowering, height, h'^bits, 

 color, &-C., and all desirable for the amateur, who has ample space, and is 

 ambitious for a large collection of plants. 



This number, however, is much too large for the great majority of culti- 

 Tators, and I have, therefore, endeavored to reduce the list so as to give a 

 selection of the very best, differing as much as possible as to the time of 

 flowering, style of inflorescence, color, height, &c. 



Setting aside the varieties of phlox subulata, setacea, stolonifera, and 

 divaricata, so desirable in their season, our Society, in their schedule of 

 premiums, have made two classes of the other varieties, viz: the early 

 euminer and late. Those designated early commence flowering about the 

 first week in June ; the different varieties successively coming into bloom 

 to the middle of July, and continue in bloom, more or less profusely, until 

 October, particularly when the flower stems are cut down to the ground as 

 the trusses or spikes of flowers begin to fade. This class of phloxes range 

 in height from one and a half to two feet, according to the richness of the 

 soil; some few varieties are rather more dwarfish in their habits, which will 

 be noted in the descriptions. The early sorts all have a peculiarity in their 

 foliage differing from those later. The leaves are generally glossy, with a 



