General Notices. 321. 



layer of any decayed vegetable refuse, such as hedge clippings, rotten 

 sticks, or the like, that will admit of pressing down equally all over with 

 the back of the spade till about three inches thick. Upon this a moderate 

 quantity of soot should be sprinkled regularly all over with the hand. Then 

 a stratum of well decayed cow or pig manure, the same thickness as the 

 vegetable refuse. This also must be sprinkled with soot, but very slightly, 

 or it will injure the plants. It is to prevent worms rising, which often make 

 sad havoc in a newly.planted bed, by rooting up the plants and dragging 

 them into their holes. If on cold clay land, use sheep manure, mixed with 

 one-fourth of sandy turf. Fill up the bed to ivithin an inch of the top edge 

 of the strips (which may now be put down for border or edging for the bed} 

 with fresh fibrous loam that will easily divide with the fork or hand ; then 

 rake all over carefully, and put on a riddling of nice light eoil, free from 

 manure, one inch thick. This completes tiie bed ready for planting, whicii 

 must be finished by the end of this month. Three plants in a row, across 

 the bed, and eighteen inches between the rows, will be quite thick enough. 

 Betwixt every two rows may be planted the double blue and red hepatica, 

 alternately with gentinella and double primroses. In February, a root of 

 the red and white turban, and ranunculus in varieties may be dibbled in 

 betwixt every plant. These I find to bloom much better here than in open 

 exposure. When these, that is the turbans and ranunculuses are past flow- 

 ering, they must be taken up, and a few ten-week stocks put two in a row, 

 about three feet apart. They will do no harm at this season of the year,, 

 but rather good, by keeping the plants cool. As it will be necessary for 

 the bed to be mado much larger than will be required fjr the few polyan- 

 thuses got in the first season, this will be found a desirable plan for making 

 use of spare room, and will render the bed gay and attractive during the 

 hot summer months, and thereby draw attention towards the polyanthuses, 

 so essentially necessary in summer, with respect to watering, &.c. It will 

 be advisable to nail some calico, canvas, or matting, from the top lath to 

 the bottom one, to shade the plants till they have taken root. Two or three 

 weeks will be sufficient, when the shade moy be taken ofi^, and some good 

 strong plants of the double flowering currant planted at the back or south 

 side of the laths, two feet distant. Blooming with the polyanthus, it adds 

 much to the beauty of this early "treat," affords good shade in summer, and 

 losing its foliage in winter, gives access to the sun's rays, and is in all re- 

 spects the best thing I know of for the purpose. 



I think I have now shown that the polyanthus border may be rendered as: 

 ornamental and attractive as any part of the garden ; and should these few 

 remarks be found worthy of insertion, I shall endeavor to give a few more 

 next month. — {Midland Florist) 



Cultivation of the Calceolaria. — It has often been to me a matter- 

 of great surprise that the large flowering, or, as they arc generally called,, 

 herbaceous calceolarias, are not more cultivated. You may visit, in this 

 neighborhood, a dozen gentlemen's gardens, and not see more than a dozen 

 plants of this beautiful section of calceolarias, and those few but raii<erable, 

 roL. XIX. — NO. VII. 41 



