NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 127 



The Blooming Season. As the flower-stems advance in 

 height, sticks will be required. Place them to the plants 

 for that purpose before the flowers open, because, if delayed 

 till that takes place, a heavy fall of rain might break them off. 

 Give the stakes a coat of lead-coloured paint, and when that 

 is dry, a second coating of light green, approaching as nearly 

 as possible to the colour of the stems of the plants. The 

 best article to tie them with is shreds of soft ne\v bass mats. 

 This special attention is only necessary for show plants. 

 When grown in tufts, a couple of stakes will suffice for the 

 whole plant. 



Thinning the Buds. To produce extra fine flowers for 

 exhibition it will be necessary to thin out the buds. 



Polyanthus. Characteristics of a show Polyanthus. 

 The plant should be healthy ; t\\e foliage large and abundant; 

 the stem stout enough to bear the truss well up above the 

 leaves, which should cover the pot, and rise up in the centre ; 

 from the centre of the leaves the stem should rise ; the truss 

 should consist of at least five flowers, and the footstalks of 

 each flower be able to support each bloom level with the 

 rest. Each flower, or pip, should be round and flat, neither 

 inclined to cup nor reflex. The pips should be divided, near 

 the outermost edge, into segments ; each division, or segment, 

 should be slightly indented or scolloped in the centre. 

 Each flower should have a yellow centre, or eye ; in the 

 centre of that there should appear a tube containing the 

 anthers, but the pistil should not be seen. This yellow 

 centre including the tube, should be of the same width as 

 the ground or body colour, which colour should either be a 

 rich dark crimson or a bright red. Round this body colour 

 the margin, or lacing, should appear of a uniform width 

 surrounding each petal, and continuing down the centre of 

 each to the yellow eye. The colour of this lacing, or margin, 

 should be uniform, whether it is sulphur, lemon colour, or 

 clear yellow. 



Propagation : by Seed. This should be saved only from 

 flowers of good form and clear bright colours. As soon as 

 the seed is ripe, gather it before the pods burst. The seed 

 is generally ripe when the pods turn brown ; cleanse the seed 

 and keep it dry till September. Then sow it in the soil 



