17 

 CLASS I. 



j4ubrietas. I consider this is the most useful family 

 of plants for spring bedding, it is also very useful for 

 many other purposes not connected with this subject ; all 

 the varieties are very impatient of removal during 

 warm dry weather, and unless the utmost care is 

 taken it is impossible to remove them under those circum- 

 stances without killing them ; in an ordinary way they ought 

 not to be disturbed between the middle of April and the 

 middle of October, but if that rule were carried out strictly 

 we could not clear the beds for the summer bedding, without 

 losing our stock of Aubrietias. I therefore worked out a 

 system of growing two sets of each kind, those taken from 

 the beds are laid in quickly on a cool shady border, firmly, 

 without division, choosing a showery day about the end of 

 May for the purpose ; if their life is to be saved they must 

 have every attention in the way of watering and shading, 

 and with all the care possible they will wither up and look 

 like a lot of dry hay for several weeks : eventually, they will 

 put out green buds, and after growing in that position all the 

 winter will be ready in March for propagating, to provide 

 plants for the following year's display ; small pieces with a 

 portion of root attached will make large plants by the 

 following October, if they are planted on a piece of good 

 ground, and fastened in firmly. The pieces should be placed 

 one foot apart each way, and will almost touch each other 

 in the autumn if they do well. We raise, annually, over 

 seven thousand plants in this way. If planted out sufficiently 

 early, viz., as soon as severe frost is over, they seldom 



