April 15. 
COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
simplest way is the same as for Tomatoes, or Capsicums, 
or early Mignonette. It is very curious, and a patch or 
plant of it, here and there, makes a strong contrast to the 
green of other plants. 
If you sow the seeds of the Tropmolum in the open 
border, they will come up and do like common Nastur¬ 
tiums; but we prefer it from cuttings, managed like Verbena 
cuttings.] 
SEED OF LOBELIA RAMOSOIDES. 
“ I have a packet of seed marked Lobelia crinus ramosoides. 
Can this be the seed of that beautiful, little, dark-blue 
variety, called Lobelia ramnsoides ! I was not aware that 
it yielded seed. Will you inform me if it does ? If it comes 
true it will save a world of trouble in taking cuttings.— 
Delta.” 
[When the Lobelia ramosoides was first obtained from 
seeds it was most certainly as barren as the desert, and no 
one could cause it to seed any how. But now, seeds by that 
name are sold by so many respectable houses, that we can¬ 
not gainsay them without actual proof. Send a small pinch 
of it to Mr. Beaton, Surbiton, near Kingston-on-Thames, and 
we shall be certain about this question as soon as the seedlings 
come to flower. We may add, that we are aware of a recent 
change in the opinion of our coadjutor, with respect to 
such questions as these about barren plants. It is well 
known, that some seedlings, which are barren at first, will 
produce seeds after a few years. The Tom Thumb Geranium 
is a subject of the kind. Now, Mr. Beaton’s new idea is, that 
old plants often become barren through long neglect and 
bad management, such as some of the old-fashioned bedding 
Geraniums ; but that it is possible, in some instances, at 
least, to restore them to a fertile state by a course of high 
i management during a certain number of years.] 
A NATIVE BEDDING PLANT. 
Believing that you, like myself, are ever on (lie look-out 
for really useful things for the flower-garden, I venture to 
send to you a morsel of a plant which, in my opinion, is a 
most useful thing, and which, from my never having seen 
any mention of it in The Cottage Gardener, may possibly 
not have come under your notice. I, myself, have seen it 
only in one other garden besides my own, and I can find no 
trace of it in the catalogues of any of our great plant 
suppliers. You will see that it is a Salvia (?) ; it is of a 
creeping habit, low, and close in growth, and with variegated 
leaves. In winter the leaves become almost entirely green, 
but, as the season advances, become more and more varie¬ 
gated, and frequently entirely white. It is nearly, if not 
quite, hardy. I left all my edgings of it out all last winter, 
and most, if not all, of them are at present alive. I have 
used it as a bedder for small patches, and as an edging. 
For both purposes it is, in my opinion, admirably adapted. 
The effect is quite as good as that of Mangle’s Silver bed¬ 
ding Geranium. It may be kept clipped with the shears as 
close as a box edging, and possesses the further great ad¬ 
vantage of being one of the easiest things in the world to 
propagate. If you like to give it a tri^l for one season, 
j before you pronounce upon its merits, or demerits, I will, 
; on a hint to that effect in The Cottage Gardener, send 
you a few plants of it. I feel sure that you will find it a fit 
companion for the Saponaria, the Campanula, and the 
Ah/ssum variegatum. —A Yorkshire Clergyman." 
[From the “ morsel ” sent, we should say the plant is a 
| Glechoma, or a Hgptis, or something allied to them. Be that 
! as it may, we shall be glad to try it in our experimental 
j garden, and report on it as soon as we are able. We expect 
i to hear of many more such unknown plants as soon as our 
| new scheme is sufficiently known. Upon further considera¬ 
tion, we think your plant is Mentha rotundifolia, variegala ,] 
TO CORRESPONDENTS. 
Daiima-bed (A Constant Reader ).—Your raised bed, ten feet across, 
circular, and in the middle of a grass plot, will look very well with 
Dahlias. One plant in the middle, one row eighteen incites from the 
grass, and another half-way between it and the centre plant, is the 
proper way to dispose of it. A Dahlia which is three feet high requires 
a space of three feet between it and the next, and so forth with all other 
heights and distances. No one can depend on the right planting of a 
Dahlia-bed unless the height of every plant in it is known before-hand ; 
but if you take the trouble to train down the Dahlias, the distances 
between the plants are of not so much consequence. Forty or forty-two 
inches apart would be an average for all trained-down Dahlias, unless 
the soil is very rich, and if so, it is not fit for bedding Dahlias at all. 
You will find all needful information in the most useful articles on 
Dahlias by Mr. Keynes, of Salisbury, who can supply you with all the 
best sorts. As to how the colours should stand, one’s own taste is by 
far the best for private use. 
Drill Rake (Sambo). —This is a good but a very old idea. Many 
such have been suggested. 
American Cranueury (Ren. C. P. C.).— Messrs. Donald and Son, 
nurserymen, Woking, Surrey, will give you the information you require. 
Chinese Potato (G . P.). —Any of the London seedsmen who adver¬ 
tize in our columns could supply you. 
Pigeon Prizes (Almond). —We have no copy of them, and it is now 
too late. 
Hare’s-foot Fern (J. H . 71/.). —The generic name is Davallia, and 
all the species are called Hare’s-foot Ferns ; but the Hare’s-foot Fern is 
Davallia cunarieusis. 
Heating with Hot-water (W. H. K. M .).—For almost every 
purpose a night temperature of 64° should do. As you want more, it 
should be given by the command of piping you have, if your boiler is 
; any size at all. We presume the four-inch pipe is the flow, and the three- 
! inch the return. The return should always be as large as the flow. In 
this case, see that the flow-pipe rises two or three inches to the extreme 
' end, and that there is an air-pipe or an open cistern there. If both 
; pipes flow from the boiler at one side, and return at the other, an air- 
pipe should be inserted at the highest point. You will lose atmospheric 
heat, in the first place, by sinking the pipes; but still, with the quantity 
you have, you ought to have more heat in the house, and more heat in 
the pipes. The fifteen feet from the boiler should be in a hollow tube, 
with an opening at the other end, which will give you fresh-heated air. 
If these suggestions do not meet your case, let us have a fuller descrip¬ 
tion and a rough plan, and we will do what we can. 
Doronicom austriacum (S. Appleby), —Your plant is Doronicum 
austriacum, which is, probably, the same as Columna: of The Cottage 
Gardeners’ Dictionary, and Columnure of ‘‘Backhouse’s Cata¬ 
logue,” quoted by Mr. Wood in The Gardeners’ Chronicle. The acknow¬ 
ledged name of Doronicum Cuurusicum is Orientate , according to the 
last edition of the “ Encyclopiedia of l’lants,” in which there is a good 
woodcut of Doronicum austriacum. Doronicum columna! is, doubtless, 
a nonentity. Certainly so, on the best authority—the ‘‘Encyclopiedia 
of Plants”—which makes no mention of it. Orientate, alias Caucasium, 
conics nearest to Austriacum, but the two are very distinct botanically. 
We are much obliged by the offer of plants of it; but it has “poured” 
' in upon us from nearer home. If you advertize it, say that it is one of 
j those plants which should never be seen in “ patch-work.” A whole bed 
of it, or none, should be its motto. 
, Name of Nut (0. Lewis ).—It is the Arena Nut, the produce of an 
1 East Indian Palm; used with the Betel-leaf for chewing as tobacco is 
j chewed in England. It can be obtained of the wholesale druggists and 
drysalters. 
Name of Flower (Airs. J. .V. Wright ).—The plant now in flower 
out-of-doors, and which came up among some annuals the year before 
last, is Primula capitata, or Round-headed Mealy Primrose. It is a new 
plant in this country, being raised from seed gathered by Dr. Hooker on 
gravelly banks at Lachen, in the Sikkim Himmalaya, one of the passes 
into Thibet, at an elevation ot 10,000 feet above the sea’s level. 
POULTRY SHOWS. 
Agricultural Society (Royal). At Chelmsford, July 14th to 19th. 
Sec. J. Hudson, Esq., 12 , Hanover Square, London. Entries close 
I June 1st. 
1 Anerley. July 29tli, 30th, 31st, and Aug. 1st. 
Ratii and West of England. June 4th, 6 th, and 6 th. Sec. Mr. J. 
| Kingsbury, 10, Hammet Street, Taunton. Entries close April 30th. 
Bristol. June 25th and 26 th. Sec. Robert Hillhouse Bush, Litfield 
House, Clifton, Bristol. Entries close 26th of May. 
Essex. At Colchester, 8 th, 9 th, and 10th of January, 1857. Secs. 
* G. E. Attwood, and W. A. Warwick. 
Exeter. At Exeter, May 29 th and 30th. Sec. Mr. T. William Gray. 
Hull and East Riding. At Hull, June 25th. Sec., B. L. Wells, 
Esq., 23, Bishop Lane, Hull. Entries close June 18th. 
Norwich. June 20th. (Norfolk .Agricultural, for Subscribers only.) | 
1 Sec., Mr. E. C. Bailey, Little Oxford Street, Norwich. Entries close j 
1 May 31st. | 
Nottinghamshire. At Southwell, December 17 th and 18tl», 1856. 
Sec., Richard Hawksley, jun. Entries close November 19 th. 
Paris. May 23rd to June 7th. Sec., M. M. E. Uoubcr, Division dc 
l’Agriculture, rue de Varennes, No. 78 bis, Paris. 
Prescot. July 3rd. Sec., Mr. J. F. Ollard, Prcscot. Entries close 
June 21st. 
Wiiarfdale. April 18th, at Otley. Sec. Mr. T. Metcalfe, Otley. 
Windsor Poultry Exhibition. At Windsor, 4th, 5th, and 6 th of 
June. Secs. Thos. Chamberlain, and Henry Thompson. Entries 
will close May 10th. 
N.B .—Secretaries will oblige us by sending early copies of their lists. 
CLOSE OF THE POULTRY CONGRESS. 
Your reporter draws to the closing scenes of his labours. 
I There is little doubt peace will be concluded to-morrow. It 
