274 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION.— July 15, 1850. 
tomas, Anomethecas, Omithogalums, Leucojums, &c.; but 
what have been mentioned will be sufficient for any 
moderate-sized bouse. 
BULBS FOR A VINERY. 
j This commences forcing at 50° in February. The 
i whole of the tender plants of the Amaryllid group may 
[ be well managed in such a place, if plenty of light is 
j given them when growing, and if the roots, when at 
i rest, are seldom below 45°. An abridged list of these 
| might consist of Sprehelia formosissimet, Brunsvigia 
i falcata, grandiflora, Josephines, multiflora, &c.; Zephy- 
j rantlies verecuncla; and Hippeastrum Slaterianim, uuli- 
| cum, hreviflormn, reticulatum, vittalum, vittatum latifolium, 
| and numberless hybrids, all beautiful. The Hippeastrum 
group alone would make tho front of such a house gay 
for several months, or when in bloom they could be re¬ 
moved to the greenhouse. The treatment of all, except 
Aulicum, is uniform; and even that will bloom very well 
on the resting system, though 1 think it does rather 
best when the leaves are always green. When growing 
and flowering, give plenty of water; when done flowering, 
water as long as the leaves keep green. Shift into larger 
pots at this period if necessary; as the leaves begin to 
decay withhold water, and expose the bulbs to the sun. 
When the leaves are decayed, keep the roots dry. As 
soon as the growth commences iu spring, top-dress with 
rich compost, and water iu proportion to growth and 
evaporation. Good fibry loam and a little very rotten 
cow-dung are the best compost for these. 
The above replies are in answer to “C.C., Guildford,” 
and we have to add that there is no such genus of plants 
as Emiandra; there is Hemiandra. R. Fish. 
THE RIBBON STYLE OF ARRANGING 
FLOWERS. 
An esteemed correspondent from Penkridge writes 
thus:—“ I wish you would give us, at an early date, iu 
The Cottage Gardener, the arrangement and culture 
of a few good ribbons, with a list of suitable plants.” 
I have great pleasure in complying with this request, 
and for several reasons; first, because I admire that 
style of arrangement more than auy other; secondly, 
because that mode embraces variety and regularity; 
and thirdly, because I have seen it carried out to great 
perfection at two places, namely, Trentbam and Euville 
Hall; at the former iu straight lines, and at the latter iu 
curved lines; both effective and charming beyond de¬ 
scription In describing these two places in a former 
volume of The Cottage Gardener, 1 gave this mode of 
arranging flowers the name of the Ribbon Style, and by 
that name it has been mentioned by other writers. 1 
consider it very expressive, as, when the long rows of 
flowers are seen at a distance, a very slight stretch of 
imagination might think they were long and broad 
ribbons laid down on the soil. In choosing plants for 
this style, two or three considerations must be attended 
to, the most important of which is, that all the plants 
should continue iu flower a long time, with the exception 
of the variegated plants, their variegation supplying the 
want of flowers; secondly, that the plants for each row 
should grow an equal height; and thirdly, that no plant 
be admitted into the ribbon that produces dull-coloured 
flowers, such as Mignonette and the Heliotrope. I saw, 
’ last summer, a ribbon, the beauty of which was com- 
J pletely destroyed by having the fourth row composed of 
Heliotropes. 
j In respect to the culture of this style of flower-garden- 
: ing, there is not any difficulty in regard to soil. It 
! should be light and moderately rich. 1 should describe 
i a compost suitable to consist of three-fourths light loam 
1 and one-fourth decayed leaves, with a liberal addition of 
any common sand—that from a river-side being the best. 
If the natural soil is heavy, then add more leaves and I 
sand to lighten it. Above all, drain it well, for if the ! 
site is a wet one, and made rich, the plants will produce 
plenty of foliage, but very few flowers; and in a wet 
season some of the plants will die in large patches of 
over-grossness in growth. To prevent this, use a con¬ 
siderable portion of charcoal-dust well mixed with the 
soil. Charcoal dust may be procured in almost any 
quantity at the steel works in Birmingham and Sheffield 
very cheap, as the manufacturers very often throw it 
away as rubbish. A person informed me, a few days 
ago, that he purchased it laid down at his garden-gate 
for Is. fid. the cart-load. For wet, heavy land it is a 
most excellent application, drying and opening the soil 
most effectually'. 
Another point of culture is to have the plants that are 
to produce flowers in a flowering state at the time of 
planting; that is, they should all be of equal age and size, 
very bushy, with the pots well filled with roots, and the 
plants well furnished with flower-buds. If the habit of 
flowering is induced before planting out, that habit will, 
in a great measure, be retained during the whole of the 
season. Late-struck Scarlet Geraniums and Verbenas, 
and, indeed,'most other bedding-out plants, never flower 
freely at first. It will be September before they have 
got into a good flowering state; whereas, by a greater 
care early in the year, they may be induced to produce 
plenty of bloom as early as the latter weeks of June, or, 
at all events, in the first week in July; and thus nearly 
four mouths of blooms will be attained. 
The very best plants for this style arc such as have 
been struck from cuttings in July the preceding year, been 
potted off when rooted, and stopped severely to cause 
them to branch close down to the pot Then, when 
frost appears, they should bo placed in their winter 
quarters close to the glass, and just kept from frost, with 
plenty of air on all favourable occasions. No flower 
should be allowed to open on these plants ; and then, in 
very early spring, say about the middle of March, these 
plants should be repotted into two sizes larger pots, 
stopped in again and again, and but a moderate supply 
of water, the object being to induce, if I may use such 
a term, a woodiness in them by the time they cun bo 
planted out. 
As soon as that season arrives tho ground should 
be forked over at least twice, to thoroughly mix the 
parts, and let the air penetrate into it. By this practice 
it will be in excellent working order. Choose a time 
when there has been two or three dry days, and in 
the meantime fully expose the plants day and night j 
to harden them, so that they will bear the change 
without altering the colour of their leaves. If they 
are previously a little browned it is no disadvantage; 
on the contrary, if they are planted out without this 
hardening process, though they will look fresh, green, 
and beautiful for a day or two, the colour will soon 
change, and the plants will look wretched for a consider¬ 
able time; therefore, all the amateur or gardener has to 
mind is, that his plants are fully exposed for at least 
a fortnight previous to planting out. Then, when all 
is ready, choose, if possible, a cloudy day, muster all 
hands, and set the plants in order on the borders, the 
row the furthest from the edge first, then the next, and 
so on down to the front row. When all aro planted, 
gather up the pots and any rubbish there may be, and 
fork over with a small fork the whole of the border. 
This will put out all footmarks and leave the surface 
in a neat condition, not too fine. I think it a great mis¬ 
take to rake the border instead of forking it over. 
The rake leaves it so smooth, that the first heavy shower 
of rain will make the surface like puddle; and then, 
when it becomes dry, it will first cake, and if dry weather 
continues will crack into numberless fissures, which I 
