The Phlox. yj 



species />aniVu/afa, more or less tinctured, probably, with the blood of other 

 families. The first shall be Madame Houllet, of a superb deep crimson ; 

 the second, Madame Flandres, of a delicate salmon ; and the third, Madame 

 Sueur, white, with a crimson spot in the middle. We plant each by itself, 

 so far from other phloxes, that the bees are not likely to mingle the pollen. 

 If we wish to be perfectly sure, we envelop each head of flowers with 

 gauze to keep off the bees. Early in September, the seed is ripe : on a 

 bright, warm day, you may hear the capsules bursting with a sharp, snapping 

 sound as the sun dries them. Now gather the seed, separate it from the 

 pods, and sow it, each kind separate, in any light, rich soil, at a depth of 

 about the third of an inch. As winter closes, cover it with a few boards. 

 The plants will appear in May; whereas, if you had delayed your sowing till 

 spring, not one seed in twenty would have germinated at all. When the 

 plants are an inch high, take them up with the point of a knife, and plant 

 them six inches apart, in a warm, sunny place. Most of them will blossom 

 before the end of the season ; and you will find it interesting to watch the 

 features of the offspring. Those of Madame Houllet will, in the main, 

 show traces of the parent. Various shades of crimson will be their prevail- 

 ing hue ; in some cases as fine as, possibly even finer than, the original. 

 Many, however, will show a tendency to revert to the dull purple of the na- 

 tive species from which their race has sprung ; while some will very probabK 

 " sport " to a variety of red, pink, or rosy tints. Of the offspring of Madame 

 Sueur, about one-third will be white, with a spot in the middle, like the 

 parent, and the rest pink, purple, or rose ; while, in the case of Madame 

 Flandres, the results will be analogous, though the proportion of handsome 

 seedlings will probably be less than with the former two. All this is on 

 the supposition that you have kept the three sorts carefully apart at the 

 time of flowering. If, on the contrary, you allow the pollen to mingle, 

 nobody can predict what the result will be. One thing only is certain, — 

 that some of your seedlings will be as good as the best named sorts in 

 cultivation. 



It is our belief that the phlox has reached the highest point of develop- 

 ment of which it is capable, and that very little further improvement is to 

 be looked for, except, perhaps, in the production of a scarlet flower ; a re- 

 sult which has lately been approximated, though not fully attained, except 



