19% HOKT1CITLTURAL TOUH, 



should doubt their acquiring maturity. We were assured, 

 however, that the crop is often abundant, and that, in warn* 

 years, it does not fail to ripen. 



The general collection of shewy plants is very choice. In 

 the open border, the Fish-bone thistle (Cnieus Casabonao) 

 was still in flower ; and many of the flowers being already 

 past, there can be little doubt of the plant ripening seeds, 

 so that it may be here continued for many years without 

 importing the seeds. Some of the rarer Orchidea?, parti- 

 cularly of the genus Cypripedium, grew luxuriantly, and 

 were at this time beautifully in flower, the soil appearing 

 to be well adapted to this tribe of plants. The Atamasco 

 Lily (Amaryllis Atamasco, sometimes called, in the Dutch 

 catalogues, Lilium uniflorum) seemed also to have been 

 strong ; but the flower was past. The Superb Corn-flag (Gla- 

 diolus cardinalis) was now in full splendour. Lobelia fulgens 

 is treated in a peculiar way : the plants arc kept in a green- 

 house till very near the time of flowering ; the pots are then 

 placed in a small pond, or in a box containing water, in the 

 open air, and are plunged just so deep that the water barely 

 covers the surface of the soil : in this way the bloom is enrich- 

 ed, the flowers get larger and more brilliant, and they en- 

 dure much longer. The double-flowering white Lychnis (L. 

 dioica var.) here grew in large tufts ; and the still rarer va- 

 riety, with pale red or rosy petals, formed a delightful or- 

 nament. A large bed is appropriated to the tuberous-root- 

 ed Swallow-wort (Asclepias tubcrosa) ; and at this time the 

 effect was brilliant, many hundreds of the flowers being dis- 

 played. The site is changed every third year; and in the 

 first year after transplanting, the flowers do not come strong. 

 During winter, the bed is covered with tree-leaves or any 

 kind of dry litter. Mr Schneevogt has raised from the seed 

 several varieties of this plant, with the blossoms of different 



