Plate 119. 
VARIETIES OE PHLOX. 
Phlox decussatei, vars . 
How greatly we are indebted to foreign raisers for the pro¬ 
ductions which enrich our gardens and greenhouses, the large 
amount of French names to he found in the catalogues of most 
of those flowers on which the skill of the hybridizer has been 
* 
exercised sufficiently testify; nor is the Phlox an exception to 
the rule, nearly all the beautiful varieties of it having reached 
us from France. 
M. Lafontaine, an amateur grower whose speciality is the 
Phlox, and M. Lierval, of Ternes, close to Paris, are the chan¬ 
nels through which the greater number have come to us. The 
former gentleman grows nearly 30,000 seedlings every year; 
several are selected from these and tried a second vear bv M. 
Lierval, and then distributed to the public; the great points 
aimed at being dwarf habit, a good head of bloom, and dis¬ 
tinctness of colour. Nothing can be more beautiful than the 
large beds of these to be seen at M. Liervahs; but the bright 
and sunny atmosphere of Paris is more suited for them than 
our moister climate—a shower of rain or even a fog conside- 
rably detracting from their beauty. In a dry and bright Sea¬ 
son they are especially beautiful. 
Although the Phlox flowers freely in the first vear of its 
growth, it maybe said to be in perfection the following season ; 
after that the flowers deteriorate, and it is better to renew them 
by fresh cuttings. The soil should be rich, as they like liberal 
culture, and if not so naturally, a good supply of well rotted 
manure should be added to it; the well-established plants 
should be planted about two feet apart, and if the flowering 
shoots are cut off as soon as the bloom is over, a succession of 
bloom may be had from July until the end of September. The 
