242 Notes and Gleanings. 



florets all turning to one side, sometimes purple,\vith a wavy rough stalk {rachis) ; 

 floral leaves divided deeply into awl-shaped segments ; husks, or glumes, usual- 

 ly containing three florets ; smaller valve of the blossom ending in two points, 

 larger valve ending in a short awn ; anthers prominent, pendulous, purple ; 

 stigmas white, feathered ; seed longish, oval, pointed, reddish yellow, covered 

 with the valves of the corolla." 



The crested dog's-tail grass is a perennial, and succeeds well on dry gravelly 

 soils and in hilly situations. It is valuable for parks and lawns on ticcount of 

 its dwarf, slender growth : and is likewise admirably adapted for croquet-grounds ; 

 for it bears treading well, and is not liable to become brown in summer. It is 

 one of the best of all grasses for resisting dry weather. 



Gesnera Zebrina and Splendidissima. — The dry parched atmosphere of 

 dwelling-rooms is very injurious to plants, particularly during the autumn and 

 winter months when strong fires are kept up. Valuable plants that would suffer 

 by being kept a few days in such an atmosphere should on no account be used 

 for this purpose. Plants that do not suiTer by this treatment should be as much 

 as possible employed for in-door decoration. There are numerous plants well 

 adapted for this purpose. I find these gesneras very useful. The roots are all 

 fresh potted in April, and then placed in one of the vineries at work. I put one 

 root into a small pot, three into larger pots, five into larger still, and as many as 

 a dozen roots into very large pots. By this plan, I have plants of all sizes. I 

 have the pots well drained ; and I use a compost of nearly equal portions of 

 loam, peat, and leaf-mould, mixed up with plenty of coarse river-sand. 



The plants soon begin to grow when put into heat. As soon as they are a 

 few inches high, they should be tied up neatly to stakes, and kept tied up from 

 time to time as they advance in growth. I never shift them after they are 

 potted. Gesnera splendidissima comes soonest into flower, generally in Septem- 

 ber, and lasts till December. G. zebrina begins to flower in October, and lasts 

 till January. They both withstand the dry atmosphere of rooms for weeks ; 

 and, as the roots are generally full grown by the time they are in flower, they 

 can be dried off when they are out of bloom on any shelf in the coolest part of 

 the stove, and can remain there until the time for potting in April comes round 

 again. — M. Saul, in '■'Florist.'''' 



Trop.'EOLUMS. — These constitute a most useful tribe of bedding plants : I al- 

 lude to the dwarf varieties. Their growth is close and compact ; they bloom very 

 freely, and are easily propagated and preserved. King of Tom Thumbs has 

 proved a great acquisition to this useful class, as the flowers are freely produced, 

 and of an intense dark scarlet : the foliage also, being of a very dark green, is a 

 pleasing contrast to the brihiancy of the flowers. Elegans is so well known as 

 to need no description. It has gained a wide notoriety from being so largely 

 employed at the Crystal Palace. The habit is very dwarf, and it is a free and 

 continuous bloomer. Eclipse is of the same habit as Elegans, but is of an in- 

 tense scarlet color, and has a telling effect in a mass, having a vividness not 

 possessed by its more sober .colleague Elegans. Garibaldi is also a good bedder : 



