100 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ May, 
soil will become more or less coated with liverwort and moss, which if left 
undisturbed would seriously impede the growth of the seeds. It is, there¬ 
fore, a good plan to sow these so deeply—say one-third of an inch, that at 
the end of January the surface soil with its incrustations may be com¬ 
pletely skinned without injury to the seed, and if the latter should by the 
operation be unduly exposed, a thin covering of fresh soil may be given. 
By the above method with ordinary care success is certain, and I may add, 
that with some modification, it is equally applicable to many other plants 
of reputed obstinate growth, to which I am unable now specially to refer. 
Ipswich . W. Thompson. 
NEW HYBRIDS OF COLEUS. 
^DmR. BAUSE, the foreman in the plant department at Chiswick, has 
^JJTD|I been very successful in an attempt to produce hybrids of the Coleus 
family. A considerable number has been raised, the materials 
operated on being the following:—C. Verscliaffeltii as the seed¬ 
bearing parent, was fertilised by C. Veitcliii, by C. Gibsoni, and by 
C. Blumei. The novel forms which have been produced range in two series, 
the one having plane crenated leaves, as in C. Veitcliii, and the other 
having inciso-dentate frilled leaves, as in C. Verscliaffeltii. The following 
selected kinds have been recently offered for sale by auction, and realised 
upwards of £890 : — 
Plane-Leaved Series. 
C. Berkeleyi (Verscliaffeltii x Veitchii): leaves rich, velvety chocolate purple, the tips 
of the crenatures only being green. A beautiful and richly coloured plant, in which nearly 
the whole surface is of a velvety purple hue, which is well displayed, from the flatness of the 
foliage. 
C. Marshallii (Verschaffeltii x Veitchii) : leaves rich chocolate purple, the base of the 
midrib and the crenatures green, so as just to form a narrow green margin. This has the 
green edge more apparent than in C. Berkeleyi. 
C. Saundersii (Verschaffeltii x Veitchii): leaves deep chocolate purple in the centre, 
somewhat mottled and of a pale bronzy tint towards the edge, which has a broadish band of 
green broken through with purplish bronzy reticulations. The broader mottled green and 
bronze margin brings this near to C. Veitchii, to which it is, however, far superior in beauty. 
C. Dixii (Verschaffeltii x Veitchii): leaves dark chocolate purple in the centre, feather¬ 
ing out through the broadish bright green margin, which is nearly an inch wide, the cre¬ 
natures narrowly purple-edged. A very brightly coloured and effective sort, from the strong 
contrast between the rich green and purple. 
C. Ruckeri (Verschaffeltii x Gibsoni): leaves deep purple throughout on both surfaces. 
A fine sturdy-growing dark-leaved sort, having very much the colour of Perilla nankinensis. 
C. Murrayi (Verschaffeltii x Gibsoni) : leaves green, pinnately marked along the 
principal veins with bars of dark purple, which sometimes coalesce, the rest of the surface 
showing through from beneath the purple reticulations, which are also evenly and strongly 
marked on the under surface. A more evenly and more fully coloured form of C. Gibsoni. 
Frilled-Leaved Series. 
C. Bausei (Verschaffeltii x Veitchii) : leaves of a rich velvety chocolate purple, green 
towards the base, and at the extreme margin. A fine distinct-looking plant, richly coloured, 
the dark colour nicely relieved by the slight green margin, which lightens up the whole 
plant. 
C. Scottii (Verschaffeltii x Gibsoni): leaves bright green, everywhere traversed by deep 
purple veins, here and there coalescing into blotches, the under surface similarly marked, 
