THE AMATEUR’S FLOWER GARDEN. 
77 
prepare them to throw out roots vigorously when planted. 
If planted in flower, they may be expected soon after to go 
out of flower and remain blank for a month. If treated as 
here advised, they will be blank about a fortnight at first, 
and will then flower freely for the remainder of the season. 
None of the old varieties, such as speciosa and gracilis , are 
now worth growing, because better are at command. The 
very dwarf sorts, known as the Pumila section, are exqui¬ 
sitely beautiful, forming dense cushions solid with bloom of 
the most pure and brilliant colours. The most useful of them 
are— Grandiflora , deep blue ; Azurea , light blue ; and Annie , 
lilac. The following are also first-rate for various purposes in 
the parterre, and also make charming pot-plants :— Indigo JBlue r 
intense deep indigo blue ; Spedabilis , deep cobalt blue ; Tren- 
tham Blue , clear blue, white eye ; and Mauve Queen , rosy lilac. 
Marigolds are not to be despised, because the little orange- 
flowered Tagetes is one of the best bedding-plants known, and 
a capital substitute for the calceolaria on soils that do not suit 
that capricious plant. They are all grown from seed, and as 
to their requirements, they are real “poor man’s plants.” 
But let us consider the large-flowering marigolds first. The 
Miniature or Pigmy and the Bivarf French Marigolds must 
not be despised by those who have not the means of growing 
yellow calceolarias. They are very dwarf in growth, tho 
varieties of the miniature section ranging from six to nine 
inches in height, and those of the dwarf section averaging 
twelve inches. They vary considerably in habit, unless un¬ 
usual care is taken in saving the seed; hence it is most im¬ 
portant to obtain it from a respectable source. The yellow- 
flowered varieties of both sections will be the most useful for 
bedding purposes. The brown and striped-flowered varieties 
are very distinct, but they can only be employed in the mixed 
border, or in an isolated bed. In ordering the seed, it will be 
necessary to state the colour required. The dwarf-growing 
Tagetes signata pumila is the most formidable opponent the 
yellow-flowering calceolarias have yet had to encounter, for it 
grows freely and blooms most profusely where the calceolaria 
cannot exist. Indeed, it ought not to be planted in very rich 
soil, because, when supplied with a large amount of nourish¬ 
ment, many of the plants will become over-luxuriant, and 
hide a considerable proportion of the flowers with the foliage. 
To raise a stock with the least amount of trouble possible,, 
