396 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



Peru, is very variable in the colours of the flowers ; there 

 are varieties with variegated leaves, and a dwarf or Tom 

 Thumb section also. 

 Myosotis (Forget-me-not). — This genus includes several 



Fifr. 499.— Nigella. 



which are treated as annuals, viz. M. alpestris, blue, and 

 its varieties white and sky-blue; M. dissitifiora, a biennial 

 which is annually raised from seeds; and M. sylratica and 

 its varieties. The two latter somewhat nearly 

 approach each other, but the former is finer, 

 while differing somewhat in growth and in the 

 character of the seeds. M. alpestris is frequently 

 cultivated in pots. Plants of M. dissitifiora can 

 be divided, but they are best when raised from 

 seeds sown in July. 



X EM ESIA stru mosa, a recently introduced annual 

 from the Cape, produces varieties of differing 

 shades of colour — white, pah -yellow crimson, &c, 

 and these in various combinations. The plant 

 attains a height of 12 to 15 inches. The seeds 

 should be sown in spring, somewhat thickly. 

 They are most effective when massed. If grown 

 under glass the seeds may be sown at any time 

 of the year ; thus treated, the flowers come larger 

 and better in colour. N. floribunda and its 

 variety compacta are pretty little low-growing 

 Bummer-flowering annuals, with white and yel- 

 low fragrant flowers. 



NeMOPHILA. —Useful dwarf hardy annuals, 

 natives of North America. They are easily cul- 

 tivated and free-flowering. The best-known 

 and prettiest is the blue X. insignis, of which 

 there are several varieties, such as the white, the 

 margined, purple-and-white, and the purplish- 

 rose. Another pretty species is X. maculata ; 

 the lobes of its large saucer-shaped blossoms 

 have each a dark-purple spot or blotch. Its 

 seeds are larger and different in colour from 

 those of X. insignis. X. Memiesii {atomaria) 

 is distinct, and there are several varieties of it. 

 If the seeds be sown in autumn and the plants 

 kept through the winter, they bloom much more 

 finely in spring than when sown in spring to 

 flower in summer. 



Nicotiana (Tobacco Plant). — X. affinis is a most popular 

 and fragrant annual, thriving in small and confined plots 

 in thickly-populated parts of London. Its height is about 



3 feet, and the long- tubed fragrant white blossoms are 

 freely and continuously produced. X. sylvestris is a 

 beautiful fragrant white -flowered species of recent intro- 

 duction, which has become highly popular on account of 

 its robust stature, large leaves, and numerous flowers 

 produced in dense panicles, and remaining expanded 

 throughout the day. The large - leaved forms of the 

 Common Tobacco, X. Tabacum, are striking objects in the 

 sub-tropical garden, and in various sheltered spots. The 

 seeds should be sown in March under glass, and the seed- 

 lings transplanted to the open in favourable weather 

 about the end of May. 



Nigella (Fennel Flower). — X. damascena is sometimes 

 known as the Devil-in-the-bush; it has both pale-blue and 

 white flowers, as well as double varieties. X. hispanica, 

 Love-in-a-mist (fig. 499), is represented by white and 

 purple forms; the average height of the plant is 18 

 inches. Seeds may be' sown in the open ground in March 

 and April. 



Nolana. — Trailing^ compact, Convolvulus-like annuals, 

 of which X. grandifiora and N. prostrata are sometimes 

 grown. They form cushion-like tufts of tongue-shaped 

 leaves, and saucer-shaped white and blue flowers; seeds 

 may be sown in the open ground in spring. 



Nycterinia, now included under ZaluziansTcya, is re- 

 presented by ^V. capensis, white, and sweet-scented ; and 

 X. selaginoidcs, of dwarf tufted growth, with lilac-coloured 

 flowers. They are well adapted for culture in pots. The 

 seeds should be sown in heat. Natives of South Africa. 



Fig. 500.— Petunias (single). 



(Enothera (Evening Primrose) includes a few showy 

 annuals, chief among them being (E. acaulis, dwarf in 

 growth, w T ith leaves in a rosette, and bearing large white 



