84 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
old favourite Tom Thumb. The blooms, perhaps, are not produced in such 
quantities as are sometimes seen on the old variety, Attraction being rather a 
stronger grower, but in poor soil it is seen to a much greater advantage. The 
flowers are bright scarlet, with white eyes, the truss large and nicely elevated 
above the foliage; individual flowers of good substance. It is the nature of 
the variety to produce seed freely, therefore the spikes should be occasionally 
cut off to prevent the plants having a ragged appearance. 
Geranium Bijou. —As a variegated-foliaged Geranium, with white edge, 
I consider this variety the best yet raised. The foliage is much more positive 
in the markings than Flower of the Day, Alma, and a host of others, while 
the blooms are of the most brilliant character, and of good form; added to 
which, the constitution of the plant appears to be stronger than is the case 
generally with the variegated kinds. It has a tendency now and then to throw 
a few shoots out of bounds. When such is the case a few inches should be 
taken off the top of them ; some extra fine leaves will then be produced. 
Geranium Cloth of Gold. —This ornamental variegated kind is a great 
improvement on Golden Chain. Although the yellow portion of the leaf is 
not so high in colour as in the older variety, the loss is well made up by the 
production of plenty of large handsome foliage, and a tolerably good head of 
deep scarlet flowers. The growth is so good that a bed can be as rapidly 
filled with this as with the plain-leaved varieties. 
Verbena Spark. —According to my notions this is the only good well- 
habited scarlet Verbena I have ever seen; all others are too straggling or too 
coarse to please me. Spark is nearly the habit of Lobelia speciosa. If 
planted about 9 inches from each other, on good well-manured ground, it will 
entirely hide the soil with its bloom and foliage, and will never require a peg 
—the brilliant scarlet flowers will be produced in great quantities, and will 
rise only just above the foliage, which quality is essential in all the bedding 
kinds. I must impress upon your readers the necessity of procuring good 
stiff plants, and of planting near together in good soil; they will then be 
pleased with the result. Last year I had a ribbon-border of Cerastium, Lobelia, 
and Spark, planted in double rows. All grew about the same height, and 
produced massive colours 18 inches wide. The border being raised, the com¬ 
pact growth of the plants was seen to advantage, and the red, blue, and white 
shone forth most conspicuously. 
Linum grandiflorum rubrum. —Although an annual, this makes one of 
the most effective bedding plants, the colour being distinct from anything else 
we have—a bright crimson, shaded with violet. Many complain of the 
difficulty they have experienced in getting the seed to grow. I fancy most 
cultivators have attempted to raise the plants in heat, and then planted them 
out in the open ground. Such is not the method I should recommend. The 
Linum should be sown in rows a foot apart, in some good mellow soil. When 
the plants are up they should be thinned, so as to leave one in about every 
3 inches; they will then branch out every way. When about a foot high, 
some neat wood pegs should be obtained, and the plants pegged-down each way. 
I do not mean that they should be carelessly bent down, but each row divided 
as it were, and the shoots carefully pegged on either side. The effect of this 
will be that the plants will be dwarfed and the soil covered, which otherwise 
would be a difficult matter with this wiry plant. A bed of Linum grandi¬ 
florum, treated in this way, will well repay the cultivator for his trouble. 
Trop^olum Eclipse. —The Tropseolum has quite established itself as one 
of the most easily cultivated of all the bedding plants ; added to which it is 
less subject to injury from thrips, fly, &c., than most other flowers. The variety 
now spoken of is the best of its class, being the same habit as the well-known 
