THE LADIES MAGAZINE OP GARDENING. 
173 
as soon as they have done flowering, that is to say, as soon as the florets 
fall off when they are touched, and I keep them till all the others are 
in an equally fit state for collecting. I then lay all the collected seed in 
a shady, dry place, and after they are more maturely ripened I put them 
in the ground. I have raised most plants from seed sown in pots and 
placed in a shady situation. Much seed cannot be obtained even with 
the greatest attention, and a great number of gathered flowers do not 
produce more than ten well-ripened seeds at most. 
I raised last autumn, from thirty seedlings, fourteen simple, three half¬ 
double, five monstrosities, and eight double; among which were four 
new very beautiful varieties, which I considered worthy of being added 
to my list, from which I excluded many others. I have again a great 
number of seedlings this autumn, and I expect from them another supply 
of new sorts. It is the same with the daisy as with many other kinds of 
flowers, viz. the more double and perfect the flower is, the finer and better 
is the seed produced from it. 
With respect to colour, my varieties consist of the most complete 
gradations from white to dark red. The construction of the flower is of 
three kinds, viz., those with flat, piped, and half-piped florets ; and each 
of these divisions contains most beautiful flowers, but the two first 
claim the preference. Each division has flowers of one colour, and those 
which are shaded. The piped are more half-globular, and the shaded 
have shades of pale and deep red at the points. Some of the daisies 
flower almost all the year through, and in autumn make quite a display. 
Some of them are very large, and when they are regularly-formed 
varieties, they have sometimes a thousand flowers. 
Cultivated daisies are particularly desirable, on account of their great 
variety; because by this means the most beautiful edgings can be given 
to the flower-garden. It is true that florists have established the principle, 
that flowering edgings should be all of one colour, and that various- 
coloured flowers in a bed alone are beautiful. But a regularly-varied 
edging of different-coloured flowers is much to be preferred to those that 
are but of one colour: such as the Hepatica triloba , when planted 
regularly with red, blue and white, has a very splendid appearance; and 
the same is the case with the daisy. It will be found that the most 
beautiful coloured varieties, regularly planted, produce a most splendid 
border. 
Varieties of the daisy have also a very fine effect when they are 
arranged according to their colour in beds or in groups on the turf; and 
mathematical aesthetieal figures are the best suited for this purpose. They 
form truly a striking feature of the garden when well arranged; and they 
