April. ~\ heart's-ease or panst. 95 



composed of four parts good loam and one part thoroughly 

 rotted manure, or three parts loam and one part de-cayed 

 leaves, not less than one foot deep : the soil must not be 

 more elevated than the surrounding surface, as they like a 

 good supply of moisture. If they are to be cultivated from 

 seeds, they should be thinly sown about the first of the month, 

 or about the end of August or first of September, and very 

 lightly covered with fine soil, giving them very frequent 

 waterings in dry weather. Those sown now will bloom in 

 July, and very profusely in the autumn; but those sown in 

 the latter period will not bloom till early the following spring. 

 When any very esteemed variety is raised, it should be pro- 

 pagated, which is very easily done, either by layers or cut- 

 tings, and sometimes by division of the root, but the two 

 former methods are preferable. The best time for laying is 

 about the first of September : an inch or two of the soil may 

 be removed all round the plant, the shoots laid down in the 

 hollow, and covered over with light rich compost. The 

 shoots will root more freely if they get a gentle twist when 

 laying them down. The best period for propagating by 

 cuttings is about the middle of this month or September. 

 Cuttings should be chosen from young shoots, about two or 

 three inches long; for when shoots are woody or hollow they 

 will either not strike at all or produce unhealthy plants. A 

 shaded but airy situation is preferable, and if the soil is of a 

 light sandy nature, the better success will attend the opera- 

 tion : the cuttings should be firmly inserted from one to two 

 inches deep in the ground, and covered with a glass, or where 

 that convenience is not at hand, they may be shaded during 

 the day with oiled paper, or any similar substitutes. In pre- 

 paring the cuttings, care ought to be taken to cut close to a 

 joint, a rule which should be strictly attended to in making 

 cuttings of every description. When they have fairly rooted 

 and taken a growth, they can be removed in cloudy, moist 

 weather, to their proper allotments. Seeds ought to be care- 

 fully collected from the finer sorts, and sown as soon there- 

 after as convenience will allow, as they deteriorate by long 

 keeping. Many hundreds of named varieties are carefully 

 cultivated in England. A select list sent contains only three 

 hundred and seventy-four names. To attempt a general or 

 even brief description of them in this work, would be consi- 

 dered by many of our friends prolix and unnecessary ; but 



