DATUEAS. BSAKE CUCrMBEE. EALSAMS. 125 



The Daturas are showy half-hardy annuals, two 

 and three feet high, wdth flowers of very large size. 

 Wrightii has blue and white flowers, delicately shaded ; 

 the flower of Chlorantha is golden yellow, very large, 

 double, and richly scented. The young plants should be 

 raised on a good hot-bed, potted ofl" into good loam and 

 leaf-mould, and planted out late in June. 



The Snake Cucumber [Cucumis flexuosus) is curious 

 from the snake-like form of its fruit. It must be raised 

 in heat, and grows remarkably fast. The Snake Gourd 

 [Tricosanthes anguina) is similar to it ; they are only 

 curious. Of a like kind are the Caterpillar Plant 

 [Scorpiurus), with yellow pea-shaped flowers, and seed- 

 vessels resembling caterpillars, and another annual 

 flower, the seed-vessel of which is like a snail. 



Honesty (for the beauty of its seed-vessel). Sweet 

 Peas (raised in pots and turned out when the pots are 

 full of root), Prince's Feather {Amarantlius hypocJiondri- 

 acus), Love Lies Bleeding (^A. caudatiis), and Amaranthus 

 melanchoUcus, with its deep red foliage, deserve a place. 

 Nor need the gay Poppy, the pretty pink Hawkweed, the 

 unobtrusive Virginian Stock, and many others, be for- 

 gotten. 



We must not leave the annuals without a few words 

 about Balsams, those pretty delicate plants, the beauty 

 and luxuriance of which depend so very much on culture. 

 Those who w^ish to have fine balsams, unless they happen 

 to possess good seed, should buy the best w^hich can be 

 obtained, in order to secure fine double flowers. Sow 

 the seed in a good hot-bed, and when the young plants 

 are ready to be pricked out prepare some light rich soil 

 for their use. The little plants being tliree inches high, 

 plant them out singly in small pots. Never let them 

 get pot-bound, but" when the roots are sufficiently grown, 

 re-pot, using richer earth to fill up every time, and giving 

 free air in abundance, and w^ater as required. Nip off 

 the buds, and carry on the shifting until the plants are 

 in eight, twelve, or sixteen-inch pots, according to the 

 size you wdsli to attain. If the plants grow fast, they 

 will ^vant re-potting about once a week, and the pots may 



