240 



CASSEIiL'S POPULAR GARDENING. 



Saising Verbenas from Seed. — It is >■ practice of 

 some raisers of seedling Verbenas, to sow the seed 

 in autumn as soon as it is ripe, doing it in pans 

 of light soU, which are placed in cold frames, and 

 kept close for a time, and then carried to a warm 

 green-house, where they germinate, and are wintered 

 on a dry shelf tiU the spring arrives. That practice 

 has now almost given way to one which advises that 

 the seed be sown at the middle or end of March, in 

 any convenient-sized pots or pans, using a good, rich 

 loam, sowing the seeds thinly, covering with a quar- 

 toi* of an inch of a light compost, and placing the 

 seeds in a temperature of from 60 to 70 degrees, 

 and keeping the soil constantly moist. It should on 

 no account be allowed to become dry. As soon as 

 the young plants are large enough to handle, they 

 should be picked off two inches apart in other pots 

 of fine soil, be kept close for two or three days, and 

 then hardened off by placing them in cold frames. 

 Strong heat is injurious to the Verbena unless it be 

 very moist, as it induces red spider, and when this 

 pest affects the plants, it is very difficult to get rid 

 of it. As soon as the weather will admit of its 

 being done, the seedlings should be planted out, if 

 possible by the beginning of May, and it is best to do 

 this in a bed or beds. The bed must be kept clear 

 of weeds, and the leading growths pegged into posi- 

 tion to keep them from being blown about by sweep- 

 ing winds. When they come into flower, the work 

 of selection begins. All inferior varieties should be 

 pulled out, and a mark placed against any that are 

 particularly good. These will give the cultivator 

 something worthy of producing seed, and his aim 

 should be to produce the very finest varieties he 

 can. In order to test the value of seedlings fully, the 

 plants should be placed in much richer soil than that 

 we have recommended for use in flower beds. 



There are many who raise seedling Verbenas for 

 bedding purposes, who do not trouble themselves 

 about making any selection of the best, or of gather- 

 ing seed for raising their seedlings. But gardeners 

 should also be ^orists. They should seek in every 

 way to improve the flowers they grow, and in doing 

 so they will find additional pleasure in their work. 

 The possibilities of nature may be fitly designated as 

 infinite. She is pregnant with undiscovered secrets, 

 and she is never slow in revealing some of them to 

 those who seek to bring forth new forms of beauty 

 with which to delight the eyes and gladden the 

 hearts of the children of men. 



Zinnia. — We have no hesitation in placing 

 this among the florists' flowers, for it is one of those 

 things the florist has greatly improved during the 

 last quarter of a century; and in our day the Zinnias 

 take a high place among the most popular of the 



half-hardy annuals. Not only do their large, bold, 

 and striking flowers adorn our gardens during the 

 summer months, but at flower shows held during 

 the months of August and September there can be 

 seen stands of flowers of such size and beauty as to 

 frequently call forth the remark from visitors, 

 " Why, they are as large as Dahlias ! " The flowers 

 certainly do rival in size and symmetry the Pompon 

 or Bouquet Dahlias. 



There does not appear to be any common name 

 for Zinnia. The genus is named after J. G. Zinn, 

 a German professor of botany, but whether he in- 

 troduced the flower to cultivation in Europe is not 

 stated. There were originally several species of 

 Zinnias known in this country, natives of Mexico 

 and Peru, but except in old botanical gardens it 

 would be difficult to find them. Z. elegans, the 

 Elegant Zinnia, the forerunner of the flne varieties 

 now cultivated, was introduced to this country about 

 1796 ; and its rich-coloured variety, occcinea, or the 

 Scarlet-rayed Zinnia, not until 1829. By crossing 

 this on to the different coloured forms of Z. elegans, 

 there was first of aU originated a section of fine 

 single varieties ; eventually some of these, owing to 

 a great extent to the higher system of cultivation 

 given to the flower, and also in some measure to 

 that tendency to assume the double form seen in so 

 many cultivated subjects, became semi-double. It 

 is to the Continental florists, and especially those of 

 Germany, that we are indebted for the splendid 

 double forms so much appreciated and of such high 

 decorative value, so carefully selected and improved 

 before they reached their present high character. 

 Something else has also been gained : the original 

 forms of Z. elegans were in some instances of a 

 loose, ungainly habit of growth; but bj' means of 

 selection a better character, more compact and sj-m- 

 metrical, was developed, to the advantage of gar- 

 deners. The fine double varieties took such a hold 

 upon the popular taste that the single forms are not 

 now nearly so much grown as they were, which is, 

 perhaps, not to be wondered at, though many admire 

 them still, and most justly so. The best vai-ieties of 

 the single Zinnias are alia, white; aurea, deep 

 golden ; coceinea, scarlet'; kermesina, crimson ; pur- 

 purea, purple; and sulphurea, sulphur-yellow. Of 

 the double Zinnias there are as many as a dozen 

 varieties ; the best we have seen are alba, atropur- 

 purea, aurea, earnea, eoccinea, kermesina, Ulacina, 

 rosea, purpurea, and sulphurea. Attempts have been 

 made to secure a section of striped varieties, but it is 

 very difficult to make these forms permanent ; they 

 appear to revert to the self character after a time. 



The Zinnias come under the denomination of half- 

 hardy annuals, and it is necessary that the seeds be 

 raised in a little warmth. We have known' seeds to 



