THE SWEET CLEMATIS. 151 



which the famous Jackmaniii is the type. These grand, 

 purple, lavender, blue, and white flowered varieties are 

 amongst the grandest of so-called "bedding plants," as 

 they are also of proper verandah and trellis climbers, but 

 they are all destitute of odour, and the admixture with 

 them of C. flammula adds the charm of sweetness to their 

 gorgeous colours. 



All these resplendent hybrids, in the production of which 

 Mr. George Jackmau, of Woking, led the way by his 

 original course of procedure in cross-breeding — his Jack- 

 man in being the first and, strange to say, the most useful 

 of the series — all these are hardy and easily managed, 

 and require in the English garden nothing more than a 

 rich deep soil and some degree of shelter, with a fair 

 share of the light of heaven all the year round. When 

 first planted they may be said to go away at a bound, 

 the growth in the second season often reaching thirty 

 to forty feet. But after a few years they make a less 

 vigorous growth, and become bare at the base of the 

 stems. Then it becomes advisable to cut them down to 

 within about a foot of the ground-line, and to remove - 

 a little of the top soil and replace it with rich mellow 

 stuff from an old hotbed or a stack of stable-manure. 

 The plants will again grow with vigour for two or three 

 or more years, and will in due time once more show signs 

 of failing. It is advisable then to destroy them and 

 remove the soil they have been growing in, and make a 

 new bed with fresh stuff and plant again. Owing to 

 its prodigious flowering, Jackmanni is usually the first to 

 " run out," but on deep and strong soil it will last ten to 

 twenty years, if aided by occasional cutting back and 

 refreshing the roots with a top-dressing. 



