96 THE CANADIAN HORTICULTUIIIST. 



to the planting that is now going on in the experimental grounds of 

 the Ontario Scliool of Agriculture at Guelph, expecting that in a few- 

 years the reports will very materially advance our knowledge of the 

 hardiness of many useful and ornamental trees and shrubs. 



There are several varieties of these Wistarias now in cultivation. 

 Of the Chinese there is a white variety, differing in no material par- 

 ticular from the other except that the flowers are white instead of 

 blue. Another variety was introduced from Japan in 1863, having 

 perfectly double flowers, deeper in color than the single, and the 

 racemes somewhat longer. There is also a white variety of the Ame- 

 rican species, and one that is supposed to be a hybrid between the 

 American and Chinese species, called Wistaria Magnifica, and another 

 known as W. Brachybotris, brought from Japan, which differ from 

 the type mainly in the shade of color of the flowers. 



We are indebted to Mr. James Vick, of Eochester, K Y., for the 

 opportunity of presenting our readers with the colored illustration of a 

 raceme of this beautiful flower which adorns the present number. It 

 is a very truthful representation, and does great credit to Mr. Vick's 

 accuracy and taste. 



SOWING FLOWER SEEDS OUTSIDE, AND BEDDING OUT. 



BY N. ROBERTSON, GOVERNMENT GROUNDS, OTTAWA. 



Sowing outside should never be done sooner than the middle of 

 May, and not then unless the weather is warm and vegetation going 

 on rapidly. If you sow when cold weather prevails many of your 

 seeds will rot and perish. A very large proportion of the flower seeds 

 sown outside are never seen, and the general cry here raised is " bad 

 seeds." The principle of success in this is much the same as in the 

 hot-bed, but with this difference : The seeds are thrown carelessly in 

 the ground, and nature is expected to do the remaining portion of the 

 work, but she will not unless you adhere to her rules. A large portion 

 of flower seeds are so fine that unless care is taken in the sowing of 

 them the attempt will be in vain. The general practice with amateurs 

 is to scrape away a little of the surface and sow the seed, and draw 

 the soil back and leave it there. Often the soil is rough and hard 

 below, and it is almost the same as if the seeds were thrown on a road 



