172 
JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ March 3, IBS'?. 
inforced by these annuals, and perhaps none so much as the large 
family of Composite. To begin with, we have the Layias or Calli- 
chroas elegans an 1 glandulosa, the latter a pure white, flower ex¬ 
cellent for cutting, lasting a considerable time in water; it produces 
an abundance of flowers from early July until September. Oxyura 
chrysanthemoides, golden yellow, edged with white, making an ex¬ 
tremely effective border plant. Lasthenia glabrata, golden yellow, 
large, and very fine. Leptosyne Douglasii, L. giganteum, L. mariti- 
mum, L. Stillmani, and others. Actinolepis coronaria, also called 
Hymenoxjs and Shortia californica, a charming dwarf and very free 
flowering annual, excellent for covering bulb beds, &c. 5ladia 
elegans and M. sativa, good for borders. Calliopsis Drummond', C. 
coronata, C. tinctoria, and its many varieties, yellow, crimson, and 
velvety crimson, very showy ; C. cardaminifolia, &c. Thelesperma 
filifolium, crimson, with a yellow edge, very graceful and beautiful. 
Among the Sunflowers, Helianthus annuus, H. argophyllus, H. cali- 
fornicus, and H. cucumcrifolius are perhaps the most distinct and 
beautiful, the latter a pretty small flower, suitable for stands, &c., 
golden yellow rays, with a black and gold centre, very effective. 
The Gaillardias are handsome plants, useful for cutting, and 
almost indispensable for beds in the flower garden. G. coccinea, 
crimson ; G. Jutea, yellow ; G. Drummondi nana, crimson and yellow ; 
G. Lorenziana, G. grandiflora, and its varieties, notably maxima, 
Roezlii, and many others, are equally beautiful. Zinnia pauciflora 
and Z. grandiflora are showy. Clintonia elegans and C. pulchella are 
curious dwarf Lobeliads, yielding an abundance of pretty flowers. 
Sabbatia campestris, handsome large pinkish flowers. Among the 
Campanula allies we have Specularia biflora and S. peifoliata, both well 
worth growing, as they continue in flower all through the summer. 
Of Gilias, Leptosiphons, and Nemophilas, there are numerous species 
representing various shades of colour, and all highly orna¬ 
mental. The variety in Nemophila are white, blue, jet black, purple, 
and violet, variously marked, and blotched. The Whitlavias, or 
Phacelias, are very handsome. W. grandiflora and the variety alba 
are both worth growing. P. campanularia, a comparatively new 
species, with intense Gentian blue flowers, is one of the best; it 
should be sown thinly in the open air along with the o hers, and 
thinned as required. Collinsias, such as verna, C. bartsiaefolia, C. 
bicolor, C. grandiflora, and C. violacea, are all worth a place. 
Platystemon californieus should be incluled, also Poppies in variety, 
notably Papaver nuiicaule, which is not strictly an annual, but it 
flowers the same year as the seed is sown, and will give satisfaction 
thus treated. Argemone mexicana, A. hispida, and ihe various forms 
of Eschscholtzia are very handsome. Calandrinias and Claytonias, 
Spraguea, and Portulacca are all beautiful, but difficult to raise, 
especially the first and last, without some kind of frame. Lim- 
nanthes Douglasi, L. alba, and L. rosea give little or no trouble after 
the first sowing ; giving an abundance of flowers all summer they 
are useful bee flowers, and as they yield a large per-centage of nectar 
they could be largely grown on bee farms. 
The Lupines number sixty-three species, the majority of which 
are annuals, all handsome, and varied in their flowers and habit. 
Godetias and Gdnotheras, as well as Clarkias, Eucharidium con- 
cinnum and grandiflorum, are well known, and largely grown in most 
good gardens. Bartonia aurea is very pretty, golden yellow, and 
somewhat resembling a large Hypericum. Amongst the best of 
those from other countries are Silenes, many Stocks, Asters, Malope 
trifida, Hibiscui Trionum, Troj seolums in variety, Arctotis, and the 
handsome Sphenogyne speciosa, S. snlphurea, and S. anthelmintica, 
Helicbrysums, Helipterums, Ammobium alatum, Acroclinium roseum, 
lberis,^ lonopsidium, Ipomeeas, Linarias, Scyphanthus elegans (a 
charming creeper or twiner), Loasa hispida, &o., Cuphea silenoidts 
and Zimapani, Lathyrus, Scabiosa atropurpurea (various colours), 
Verbenas, Nemesia floribunda, Nigella, Petunias, Phlox Drummondi, 
and varieties. Sweet Rockets, Siponaria calabrica, Sweet Sultan, 
and Dianthus chinensis, with many others, are all worth attention. 
A good guide to beginners in sowing seeds is to cover them to about 
their own depth with soil, except such large seeds as Peas, Ipotraeas, 
&c., which may be placed deeper as a safeguard against vermin.— 
preceding plants in decomposing stubborn substances. The under 
strata may be sand, gravel, limestone, sandstone, or other descrip¬ 
tion of rock, clay, or a compound, of clay with gravel, sand, 
marl, &c., and vice versa. The geological character of the forma¬ 
tion need not be discussed, but whatever that may be its influence 
is very pronounced in the vegetation. Every splinter of rock or 
pebble is contributory to tbe soil of silica, lime, potass, phos¬ 
phates, &c., some or perhaps all those, and it is not necessary, as was 
at one time supposed, that they must be exposed to light, air, and 
moisture, as the roots of plants descend to a considerable depth and 
possess the power of abstracting such substances. This disin¬ 
tegration by the roots is one of the most important causes 
of fertility. The luxuriance of vegetation is usually propor¬ 
tionate to the depth of the soil. Some soils have a thin 
crust, a few inches only of the surface soil mellow and easily 
worked, but are nevertheless highly productive, although the 
pan is a stubborn clay, or it may be a thin crust of calcareous 
loam overlying lime or chalk, or a few inches of soil intermixed 
with the shingle of the oolitic formation, or a thin crust of sandy 
soil, as much sand as loam or available matter, or mere brash, a com¬ 
pound of gravel, sand, and earth. There may be too much lime in 
some soils for the satisfactory development of certain plants and 
too little in others. The best soil is that which contains some part 
of everything without a great preponderance of any one particular 
substance, as to afford support to a great variety of plants. 
Let us glance at the soil of gardens. All or most are loams— 
sandy loam, clayey loam, or calcareous loams. They are loams 
perhaps by a long course of subjection to atmospheric and plant dis¬ 
integrating and decomposing influences, age after age, or through 
cultivation long pursued. The sandy loams are rich in silica (there 
is generally a sufficiency of lime), but they are poor m humus, 
phosphates, and alkalies. Clayey loams usually have plenty of 
potass, sulphur, salt, and phosphate, but in lime and silica there is 
an astounding deficiency. Calcareous loams are deficient of humus, 
salt, sulphur, alkalies, and frequently of silica, but absolutely rich 
in lime and phosphates. According to this the sandy loams would 
not suit the Pea, Bean, Potato, Artichoke (Jerusalem), Carrot, 
Parsnip. They ought to have good loam or clay ; but it is not in 
gardening what crop the soil is capable of producing, but rather 
what it can be made capable of producing by cultivation. Accord¬ 
ing to analysis we ought to have a preponderance in the soil of potass 
and phosphates for Peas and Beans, and all of that order. In 
Brassicas, which include Turnips, lime and sulphur should pre¬ 
ponderate in the soil, fruit being highly charged with alkalies. Our 
soil should accord, and for stone fruit lime is required, and this, I 
believe, is the only inorganic substance considered essential by nine- 
tenths of gardeners, and some do not afford that. It is all-import¬ 
ant with garden practitioners that they have abundance of manure. 
It is the only substance used in gardens worth taking cognisance of. 
True, lime is sometimes used, and fruit and plant composts have 
particular attention in respect of the ingredients, but the varied 
artificials are only employed as auxiliaries in the production of 
flower, fruit, and vegetable crops. The grower for market acts 
much on the same lines as the private grower. Where the farmer 
uses a hundredweight the market gardener employs a ton of solid 
manure, and his outlay in soot exceeds that of the farmer for 
artificials. The fact is this, the market and private gardener de¬ 
pends on organic matter, adds to the staple whilst enriching the 
soil, but the farmer replies to the demand of the soil for plant ali¬ 
ment by an expenditure on artificials that in respect of organic 
matter are evanescent as regards the current and leave nothing be¬ 
hind for succeeding crops, except of an inorganic nature of no 
benefit whatever to anything but a crop that may come upon the 
land some time. I by no means desire to disparage the application 
of the inorganic substances to soils that are found deficient in 
them by careful analysis, but the use of artificials of an inorganic 
nature on land upon no principle whatever is simply a waste of re¬ 
source.—G. Abbey. 
(To be continued.) 
ON SOILS. 
Soils are variable ; the prevailing one is loam, a Nature-formed 
and enriched surface, resulting from the disintegration of its con¬ 
stituents by atmospheric agencies and the decay of preceding 
vegetation. This surface is usually of a yielding texture, the depth 
varying with the extent of the amelioration and accumulation of 
debris. Good loams are naturally fertile, in others there is a pre¬ 
ponderate of sand ; gravel is largely mingled with another, flints are 
plentiful in loam of the limestone formation. Clay is a prevailing 
character of some soils. Alluvial soils, bog, and peats all or most 
support vegetation of some kind as the result of a long course of 
subjection to atmospheric influence, aided by the roots of present or 
HABROTHAMNUS ELEGANS. 
I am surprised this plant is not more generally grown. It should be 
in every greenhouse and conservatory, as it is very easy of culture, and 
with ordinary attention will produce its showy flowers by the armful in 
January, February, and March. The flowers are produced in bunches 
at the end of every shoot. They are bell-shaped, droop gracefully down, 
and of a beautiful crimson colour. They are exceedingly showy on the 
plant, and when cut and arranged in glasses they have a charming 
effect. They would be valuable flowers at any season, but iD the earliest 
of the spring months, or indeed before winter is over, an abundance is 
very acceptable. The plant is a very strong grower. If planted in a 
bed and allowed to grow freely it would soon cover a great space, but 
throughout the summer it will bear any restriction, and nothing suits it 
better than to cut it in until late in autumn, then allow every shoot 
