NICOTIANA 71 



return for the little expense and time given it. Though of 

 Calif or nian origin Nemophila insignis is a Hardy Annual, and 

 the earliest flowers are produced from an Autumn sowing, 

 though this should always be followed by at least one Spring 

 sowing. Seeds are nearly always sown far too thickly, with 

 the result that the plants are rarely allowed to do themselves 

 full justice. I suppose few people ever thin Nemophilas to i 

 foot apart ; but if they so treated them a pleasant surprise 

 would follow and the display be finer and more lasting than 

 that obtained from overcrowded plants. 



The grandiflora strain of N. insignis has larger flowers 

 than the type ; blue, with white centre, is the commonest 

 colour, but there are white, rosy, and white margined 

 varieties. N. maculata, 6 inches, white and purple, is good ; 

 and N. Menziesii, 6 inches (the N. Atomaria of catalogues), 

 may be white with black spots, or blue with black spots and a 

 white centre, while the variety discoidahs is dark purple with 

 a white edge to each petal. 



NICOTIANA 



" Tobacco" 



In the genus Nicotiana {Solanacece) there are several plants 

 of rather doubtful Annual duration, notwithstanding that they 

 are catalogued as Half-hardy Annuals and grown as such. All 

 those mentioned below must be raised in heat in February 

 or March to prove successful, and a temperature of 65° is 

 a good one in which to secure germination. The seeds are 

 small, and there is consequently a need for care in sowing ; 

 sow thinly on the level surface of fine, sandy soil, just 

 pressing the seeds in and dusting them over with a little 

 sand. Prick off early, harden in due course, and plant out 

 at the end of May. Tobacco plants appreciate good soil, and 

 they are of little use if grown in the shade. 



One of the best known is Nicotiana alaia (syn. N. affinis), 



