Herbaceous Per en n ia Is. 587 



and mixed with it. The method of planting will be deter- 

 mined by the taste and requirements of the cultivator. The 

 principal considerations are : size and colour, and flowering 

 season, and space for the introduction of bedding plants 

 where it is desirable. There should also be some proportion 

 in the relative size of the plants of different species. Free- 

 growing species that soon cover a large space should be kept 

 in check, and the more delicate ones encouraged by special 

 study of their habits and peculiar likings. Thinning out of 

 superfluous stems and supports where needed should always be 

 seen to as soon as neecjful. The stakes or other supports used 

 should be selected according to the respective heights of the 

 plants, and as much hidden from view as circumstances will 

 permit. If painted green, so much the better, as they are then 

 less striking ; but even common hazel or other stakes with the 

 bark on are scarcely noticeable when properly put in. Nothing- 

 is more unsightly than the common practice of tying up the 

 stems of a plant like a broom to a single rough stake standing 

 a foot or two higher than the pjant itself. One support or 

 more may be necessary according to the habit of the plant, and 

 in no case should they exceed the full-grown plant. Care 

 should be taken to preserve the natural habit of each species. 

 The best material for tying is bast or soft string. Much time 

 is gained by performing this and many other operations as soon 

 as the plants are sufficiently advanced ; and not only time in 

 this case, but likewise a better effect. For when plants are 

 neglected, the stems spread out and lean in all directions, so 

 that when they are tied up they remain unsightly for some 

 time, even if they ever assume an elegant appearance, in con- 

 sequence of the stems being crooked and the leaves twisted. 



A large proportion of the perennials in general cultivation 

 are easily propagated either from off-sets, cuttings, or seeds in 

 the open borders ; but that is not the case with many of those 

 species which will not bear root-division, and whose seeds are 

 very minute. The familiar Wallflowers, Pansies, Polyanthuses, 

 Monkshood, Columbines, Antirrhinums, Michaelmas Daisy, 

 Scarlet Lychnis, Arabis albida, London Pride, &c., owe, no 

 doubt, some portion of their popularity to the facility with 

 which they are increased. Where, as in the case of Antir- 

 rhinum, Polyanthus, Larkspur and Pansy, propagation is 

 usually from seed, this should be thinly sown in beds or 

 patches, not earlier than the middle of March, as it will then 



