THE KITCHEN aAEDEN. 



206 



down to the compact grass-like foliage so soon as 

 they hegin to fade, and to prevent their seeding, the 

 Thrifts will generally, on good soil, flower a second 

 time, though far less freely, through August and 

 Septemher. Treated thus there are few better 

 edging plants than the briUiant-coloured varieties of 

 the common Thrift. 



They soon spread out into a thick grassy-looking 

 line six or more inches wide, and as the flower-stems 

 rise above the leaves from six inches to a foot, and 

 bend with their own weight over the sides, the result 

 is a band of glowing colours and a mass of semi- 

 round bloom a foot or more wide. The great 

 Round-headed Thrift, Armeria cephahtes, though not 

 nearly so well adapted for edgings, forms a yet more 

 effective plant for a bold mass, in either bed or 

 border. The leaves are much wider and larger, the 

 difEerence being almost as great as that between 

 Leeks and Chives, though neither of the Armerias is 

 a bit like either, but the contrast in size is almost 

 equally apparent. The flower-stems on good soils 

 average eighteen inches, and may reach to two feet in 

 height. The flowers are large and closely-packed 

 masses, somewhat resembling some of the Statices, 

 hence the name of Statics lusitaniea is sometimes 

 given to this giant Thrift. There are said to be 

 deeper-coloured varieties of it, but the writer has not 

 seen them. A pure white and a deep scarlet variety 

 of this monster Thrift would prove among the 

 most welcome additions to all gardens, large and 

 small. This species is sometimes confounded with 

 formosa, but the colour is difierent, and also the 

 habit to some extent, though the Thrift grown under 

 the latter name is about as tall as cephahtes. The 

 names, however, of latifolia, pseudo-armeria, and 

 mauritamica have been applied indiscriminately to 

 A. eephalotes. While as regards size it is a great 

 Improvement on the common Thrift, it is in no 

 respect a substitute for it. While more effective for 

 forming striking tufts or masses of colour further 

 "back on the mixed herbaceous bed or border, it is of 

 no use as an edging plant. Unfortunately too, being 

 a native of Africa and of the lower altitudes of the 

 South of Europe, this large Thrift is far less hardy 

 than the dwarfer ones. It is, however, well worthy 

 of a sheltered sunny spot in every garden. 



There are several other species and varieties of 

 Thrift, one of the most common being maritima, 

 very much like the common Eed Thrift, but mostly 

 of a more vivid colour. This is the sort most com- 

 monly found near the seaside in different parts of 

 Great Britain, and very often met with in old- 

 fashioned gardens. 



The common Thrift and its varieties, and all the 



other dwarf -growing species and varieties, are easily 



. propagated. by division. As clumps and borders 



when left too long in one spot are apt to become 

 bare and bald in the middle, it is good practice to 

 sever them every second or third year. 



The best time for this operation is soon after the 

 bloom has faded, say in August. If the plants are 

 lifted bodily at this season, divided into convenient 

 pieces, and irmnediately re-planted, they will be 

 nicely re-established next year, and flower as freely 

 the following season as if nothing had happened. 

 They should he planted firmly in fresh soil if on the 

 same spot, for the Thrift, from its enormous flori- 

 ferousness, speedily exhausts the soil. 



From the very nature of the plant, and the posi- 

 tions in which it is found to thrive best in a state of 

 nature, a rather deep sandy loam on a dry bottom 

 suits it best. From the density of the mass formed 

 by Thrifts, the frosts occasionally, in severe winters, 

 almost raise them out of the ground ; and one 

 of the best means of culture for the common sorts 

 is to tread them firmly back with the foot, or 

 when practicable, as it often is in the case of 

 edgings, to run a roller over them. The giant 

 , Thrift does not multiply so rapidly as the more 

 dwarf varieties, and hence cannot be so speedily 

 propagated by division. But, on the other hand, it 

 ripens seeds more freely in favourable positions, and 

 these may be either sown so soon as ripe on light 

 sandy soil in a sheltered spot, or in the spring. Sow 

 very thinly, for Thrifts, especially the larger ones, 

 resent root-disturbance in a small state, and ought 

 to remain undisturbed in their seed-beds tiU large 

 enough to transfer to their blooming quarters. 



THE KITCHEN GAEDEN. 



By "William Earlet. 



CVLTVRE OF VEGETABLES. 



Celery [Apium graveolens). French, Celeri ; 

 German, Sellerie ; Spanish, Apia. — Celery is a native 

 British plant, flourishing in country ditches, com- 

 monly Imown as " SmaUage," and a biennial, of 

 poisonous import in its native state. Cultivation and 

 the system of blanching in vogue have changed it 

 into one of the most valuable comestibles the vege- 

 table garden lays claim to. Though a wild plant, and 

 excessively hardy and durable, it requires, never- 

 theless, the most studied and generous treatment 

 under culture to insure to it that state of perfection, 

 or merit, which belongs to it. 



The soil most suited to it, under artificial culture, 

 is one moderately moist, rather stifi, but thoroughly 

 worked or broken up, and very liberally intermixed 

 with good old, or thoroughly decomposed, manure. 



Seeds, to secure the needful crops, must be sown in 



