SPRAGUEA, Nat. Orel. Portulacacece. 
The Spraguea umbellata is a really pretty plant, and as curious as it is beautiful. The 
leaves are rounded, somewhat succulent, and arranged in a crown-like cluster, as shown in the 
engraving. The flowers form dense umbels, on leafless flower stems, six 
inches or more in length. The blossoms are pink, and though not an 
everlasting flower, with a very little drying 
will equal the best for winter use. The 
Spraguea is a native of California, but we 
saw it there only in one place, within reach 
of the spray of the Nevada Falls, and there 
it grew most luxuriously, and when we 
informed the ladies that these flowers were 
everlastings and would keep for years, every one appropriated a good bunch as a memento of the 
Yosemite and Nevada Falls. Sow the seed under glass or in a sheltered bed in the garden. 
STOCK, TEN-WKEKS, (Mathiola annua,) Nat. Ord. Crucifem. 
The Ten- Weeks or Annual Stock presents nearly or quite all the requisites of a perfect flow- 
ering plant — good habit, fine foliage, beautiful flowers of almost every delicate and desirable tint, 
delightful fragrance, early flowering, and 
abundance of blossoms. Although not a 
constant bloomer like Phlox, Petunia, etc., 
the flowers endure for a long time, and the 
side shoots give a succession of flowers 
under favorable circumstances for months. 
Indeed, the growth and flowering seems 
almost perpetual, where the plant can ob- 
tain a needed supply of moisture. Cool, 
dewy nights and moist days are the delight of the stock. The 
best seeds of this flower are grown by German florists, in pots, on 
stages, in open houses, the 
object being to protect the 
plants from rains and dews, 
and severe winds. The double 
flowers give no seeds, but by 
crowding several plants into 
small pots, thus starving them, 
and by other operations known 
to skillful flower seed growers, 
seeds are produced that will 
grow plants with double flow- 
ers. Three - fourths of the 
plants raised from the best seeds will usually produce 
double blossoms. Seeds may be sown in the open ground, 
or in the hot-bed or cold-frame ; but if transplanted, let this be done when the plants are 
quite small, just out of the seed-leaf. They should be removed from the seed-bed before they 
become "drawn," or slender, or the flowers will be poor. Make the soil deep and rich. Set 
the plants about twelve inches apart. If the plants that are not too far advanced are taken 
up carefully in the autumn, and potted, they will flower elegantly in the house in the winter. 
It is a good plan to sow a few late in the season for this purpose. After growing in the house 
they can be put out in the ground, and will generally flower well the second season. 
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