THE VIRGINIA STOCK. 



Malcomia maritima. 



O humble a flower is this that we 

 should despair of making a suffi- 

 cient vindication to justify the 

 picture, but, happily, it is a repre- 

 sentative of a very important class 

 of garden flowers the hardy 

 annuals with which most ama- 

 teurs make an agreeable beginning 

 in garden experiences. It is a 

 cruciferous or cross-flowered plant, 

 and in that respect might claim a 

 lot of attention ; for the wallflower, 

 the stock, the aubrietia, the rocket, 

 and the cabbage are cruciferous, 

 and have some striking properties 

 in common. 



Hardy annuals are the cheapest 

 flowers in the world; many of them are gay, 

 and last long, and are delightfully fragrant, 

 and all of them are interesting and pleasing more or 

 less. It is usual to sow the seeds of these flowers in the 

 month of March in patches along the borders, and the 

 ciistomary practice answers very well. The weak point in 

 the practice, for the most part,, consists in sowing too many 



