THE LANTAXA. 



121 



nothing can surpass it, and as a bedder it no doubt 

 excels most things, possessed as it is of every shade of 

 colour, and having a distinct beauty of its own. This 

 genus has now arrived at a state of perfection that 

 probably can never be surpassed. 



The propagation of. the Verbena is by cuttings of 

 the points of the young growth during the month of 

 August for stock plants for the winter, from which 

 cuttings may be taken again through the spring months 

 for bedding. The cuttings strike freely in pans filled 

 with any sharp clean sand, and kept saturated with 

 water, in heat, in the spring, and set full in the sun 

 without any other heat in August. These August- 

 struck cuttings will make nice pot plants for flowering 

 in the spring, and on through the summer in the con- 

 servatory, if grown freely, and frequently stopped. 

 New sorts are raised from seed sown in the early 

 autumn, or very early in the spring, so as to get them 

 to flower in the following summer. 



The Lantana (Verbenacece). 



This genus has been much improved of late years. 

 There was a time when but one or two colours were 

 cultivated, but now we have many beautiful tints. 

 They are well worthy of cultivation as pot plants, or 

 for bedding, pegged down. Cuttings may be easily 

 struck in pots of sandy peat in a similar way to that of 

 the Verbena, except that a mild heat is necessary for 

 them. 



By Seed. — Sow the seed in pots or pans of fine peat, 

 or leaf-mould and maiden soil, and set in heat in the 

 early spring. As a pot plant, frequently stop the young 

 plants, to induce a dwarf condition, and grow them 

 slowly, or they are apt to get beyond a neat habit ; but 

 as soon as flower-buds begin to show themselves, give 

 liquid manure ; this will develop fine trusses of flower. 



G 



