3 
S THE VIRGINIA STOCK 
Malcomia maritima, 
SO humble a flower is this that we 
should despair of making a sutli- 
cient vindication to justify the 
picture, but, happily, it is a repre- 
sentative of a very important class 
of garden flowers — the hardy 
annuals—with which most ama- 
teurs make an agreeable beginning 
in garden experiences. It is a 
cruciferous or cross-flowered plant, 
and in that respect might claim a 
lot of attention ; for the wallflower, 
the stock, the aubrietia, the rocket, 
and the cabbage are eruciferous, 
and have some striking properties 
in common. 
Hardy annuals are the cheapest 
Mf flowers in the world; many of them are gay, 
and last Jong, and are delightfully fragrant, 
and all of them are interesting and pleasing more or 
less. It is usual to sow the seeds of these flowers in the 
month of March in patches alone the borders, and the 
customary practice answers very well. The weak point in 
the practice, for the most part, consists in sowing too many 
K 
