828 On the Cultivation of Phlox Drummondii, 



to notice some new varieties, and urge the importance of paying 

 more attention to the raising of seedhngs. 



Mr. Hogg, of New York, has raised some of a very beautiful 

 character from seeds which he received from Mr. Tweedie, now 

 collector in South America. We saw several of them in flow- 

 er last June, when w^e visited his nursery, but were struck, in 

 particular, with the rich color and satiny appearance of the mon- 

 strous flowers of one variety, a plant of which we now possess 

 in full bloom and vigor. Some of the flowers measure upwards 

 of two inches in diameter, (P. phosnicea does not attain above 

 half this size,) with a broad spreading limb. It is one of the best 

 we have seen. The color is paler than the P. phoenicea, but not 

 so much so as to have that washy look of most seedlings. It is 

 neat in its habit, with small foliage and long slender peduncles, 

 which hold out the flowers from the plant to plain view. 



We have ourselves produced one or two seedlings of conside- 

 rable beauty — one, in particular, quite distinct from any thing we 

 have before seen. This variety was taken from a large bed of 

 plants, sown in May, in the open ground. The size of the flow- 

 ers is about the same as the P. phoenicea, but, in place of their 

 being wholly self-colored, to use such a term for this tribe, they 

 are narrowly edged with green, somewhat in the way of a green- 

 edged auricula, though with not the same evenness of outline. 

 The plant has, however, a very singular and distinct appearance, 

 and deserves to be perpetuated and cultivated. If the flowers 

 were as large as the variety we have just noticed, and the green 

 edge perfectly even in its breadth, it would be surpassing in its 

 elegance. It is a very singular sport, and, we doubt not, plants 

 possessing this edged style of inflorescence may be produced 

 from it of far superior beauty. 



A blush or pink-flowered one was highly prized as a choice 

 variety, in Philadelphia, last season, from whence plants have 

 been sent to the vicinity of Boston. This variety breathes a de- 

 lightful odor, much stronger than the old P. nyctagini flora. The 

 habit of the plant is rather stiff and woody, which detracts from 

 its beauty. It is, however, worthy of cultivation. 



We have seen another quite delicate variety, raised by an 

 amateur in gardening. The flowers are of a very pale pink, 

 almost white, and the inside of the tube or throat of a very dark 

 shade, contrasting prettily with the pale surface of the corols. It 

 is delicate in its mode of growth. 



P. var. Block??*, we have before noticed. It is a very orna- 

 mental variety, and a most profuse flov,'erer. 



It may scarcely seem of importance enough to describe so 

 particularly these varieties, as they will probably soon be 

 displaced by others. For some time, at least, they will be 

 considered as being desirable objects for cultivation, and in dis- 



