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PBAGTIGAL GUIDE TO GARDEN PLANTS tbop.bolum 



somewhat more difficult to propagate and 

 grow into good plants than others. 



There are some hundreds of varieties 

 in cultivation, but the following are 

 among the very best for outdoor 

 gardening : — 



Best Scarlets and Crimsons. — 

 Vesuvius, West Brighton Gem, Henry 

 Jacoby, John Gibbons, Bev. A. Atkinson, 

 Ball of Fire, Corsair, King of the Bedders, 

 Geo. Potter, Triomphe de Stella, Wonder- 

 ful. 



Silver-leaved varieties. — • Flower of 

 Spring, Day- break, Mrs. Parker. 



Tricolors. — Mrs. Pollock, Master 

 Harry Cox, Lady Gullam, Countess of 

 Ashburnham, Peter Grieve, Sophia 

 Dumaresque. 



Green and Gold. — Crystal Palace 

 G'em, Happy Thought, Golden Christine, 

 Robert Fish. 



Bronze. — Zulu, Marshall McMahon, 

 Black Douglas, Golden Harry Hieover, 

 Bronze Queen, Bronze Beauty. 



Ivy - leafs. — Album graudiflorum, 

 Duke of Edinburgh, I'Elegant, DoUy 

 Varden, Souvenir de Charles Turner, 

 Madame Crousse &c. 



Pinhs. — Master Christine, Mrs. Turner, 

 Constance, E. F. Crocker. 



Whites. — • White Vesuvius, White 

 Princess, White Perfection, Queen of the 

 Whites. 



TROP-^OLUM (Golden Nastur- 

 tium ; Indian Cebss ; Yellow Lark- 

 spue). — A genus of about 35 species of 

 beautiful twining or spreading annuals or 

 perennials, with alternate peltate or pal- 

 mately angled, lobed or dissected leaves. 

 Stipules none, or minute. Peduncles 

 axillary, 1-flowered. Flowers irregular, 

 orange-yellow, rarely purple or blue. 

 Sepals 5, united at the base, the upper 

 one produced into a free spur. Petals 5, 

 dissimilar, or fewer by abortion, often 

 fringed or bearded at the base. Stamens 

 8, free, unequal, all anther-bearing. Fruit 

 3-lobed, fleshy, indehiscent. 



TropEBolums are extremely valuable 

 for training over trellises, arbours, old 

 tree stumps, sheds, old walls &c. in the 

 summer and autumn months, during 

 which period their masses of peculiar- 

 looking flowers and brilliant colours give 

 a very gay appearance to the garden. 



This genus -is familiar on account of 

 the dwarf and climbing varieties of T. 

 majus and T. minus, popularly called 



' Nasturtiums ' simply. The Nasturtium 

 proper belongs to the same order as the 

 Wallflower and Cabbage (Cruciferce). 



Culture and Propagation. — Tropseo- 

 lums are annual and perennial, the 

 latter having either fibrous or tuberous 

 roots. The annual varieties thrive in 

 ordinary garden soil and may be raised 

 from seeds sown out of doors in April. 

 The perennial kinds like a richer soil — 

 turfy loam and peat, with plenty of 

 moisture at the root when growing. 

 They may be increased by dividing the 

 roots or tubers, or by inserting cuttings of 

 the young shoots in pots or pans under 

 glass. 



The following are the best for out- 

 door gardening : — 



T. Lobbianum. — A vigorous climbing 

 annual, native of Columbia, with roundish 

 peltate leaves, obscurely lobed, glaucous 

 beneath. Flowers in summer, orange; 

 calyx long-spurred, hairy ; petals obovate, 

 the 2 upper ones entire, scarcely lobed, 

 the 3 lower ones smaller, deeply toothed, 

 fringed, long clawed. 



There are several beautiful varieties 

 of this species, among which mention may 

 be made of Brilliant ; Crystal Palace 

 Gem, (ox elegans) ; fulgens ; Golden Queen, 

 with pure golden-yellow flowers without 

 spots; Jiedereefolium,, with Ivy -like leaves 

 of a dark metallic hue and deep crimson- 

 scarlet flowers; Napoleon III., yeUow 

 spotted with brown ; Spitfire, with scarlet 

 flowers and deep purplish foliage. 



Culture and Propagation. — Seeds 

 may be sown out of doors in April and 

 May in patches where the plants are re- 

 quired to bloom during the season. They 

 may also be sown in pots or shallow pans 

 in cold frames or greenhouses in gentle 

 heat about March, afterwards transplant- 

 ing the seedlings at the end of May or 

 beginning of June. If the seeds are sown 

 in pots it will be unnecessary to prick the 

 seedlings out separately, but the whole — 

 pot, soil, and all — may be planted where 

 required, thus avoiding injury to the 

 roots and subsequent ' flagging ' of the 

 leaves. 



T. majus (Great Indian Cress or 

 Nasturtium). — This well-known climbing 

 annual is a native of Peru. Leaves 

 almost round, peltate, sometimes slightly 

 lobed or wavy. Flowers in summer and 

 autumn, rich orange, large and showy, 

 the 2 upper petals marked with deep 



