1 July 6. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
257 
The following are good German varieties:— Conspicua, 
mottled blush and red; Eliza, light rose-pink; Eva, 
| beautiful, small, white; Flower of the Day, rose and 
' blush; King of Crimsons, rich dark colour; Perfection, 
[ light pink; Prince Albert, beautiful, large, white tipped 
j with cherry; and Princess Royal, white changing to 
rose. 
So ranch is this flower improved, that a good collec¬ 
tion, well grown, when in bloom, are nearly as handsome 
as a bed ot Ranunculuses of the same colours, to which 
flower, indeed, the best varieties have a great resem¬ 
blance, excepting, that they are more double than the 
best Ranunculuses, and have the advantage of being 
more hardy, and more easily cultivated. No doubt, 
there may be many successful raisers of Daisies through¬ 
out this country, but probably such persons do not think 
their flowers, however excellent, worth 'public notice. 
Hence, we never hear of them. This is a mistake; for 
in this flower-loving age any improved flower is highly 
esteemed, and would be gladly received by the public, 
did they know where to apply for it. Let all possessors 
of such improved varieties (especially those who deal in 
them) make them known through the medium of The 
Cottage Gardener. 
The cultivation of these flowers may be divided 
into, 1st, Propagation; 2nd, Soil and Situation; 3rd, 
General management. 
Propagation: By Seed to save new Varieties. —The 
seed should ho saved from the largest semi-double 
flowers; full double flowers do not produce seed, for the 
simple reason that they cannot, the seed-vessels having 
been changed by culture into flower-leaves, or petals. 
The seed must bo gathered as soon as it is ripe, or it 
will quickly shed and be lost. If saved before the end 
of July, it may be sown immediately, but if later, it will 
be advisablo not to sow it until the spring. If tho quan¬ 
tity saved is small, it may be sown in wide shallow 
earthenware pans, or in boxes ; place them in the shade 
of a wall, where the sun cannot shine upon them before 
elevon o’clock, or thereabouts. This partial shade pre¬ 
vents the soil from being parched-up and requiring so 
often watering. If such a position is not on the pro¬ 
mises, then an artificial shade must be formed with a 
frame of sticks and canvass, something in shape like a 
candle-extinguisher. This may be easily placod upon 
the seed-pans during hot sunshine, or when a dry, parch¬ 
ing wind prevails. The soil for seedlings should be 
light loam mixed with river sand, and the pans should 
be well drained, placing over the drainage some pieces 
of fibry turf, so as to cover it about half-an-inch. 
These lumps being packed close together prevent the 
finer particles of the soil from falling among tho broken 
crocks and choking up tho drain. Fill the pans, then, 
with the soil, nearly up to the rim, press it gently down 
with a round piece of board, with a nail driven in the 
centre to take hold of as a handle ; then sow the seed 
evenly, and not too thick, and sift a thin covering of fine 
soil upon it, and when all the seed is sown, water them 
gently with a very fine-rose pot, so as not to disturb 
this thin covering; then place them in the position 
above-mentioned, or have tho shades ready for use when 
the weather renders the shade necessary. If the quan¬ 
tity of seed saved is considerable, it may be sown on a 
bed in the open ground. This bed ought, however, to 
be duly prepared to receive the seed ; tho same principles 
being acted upon as in the case of sowing the seed in 
pans ; that is, it should be drained well, mixed with sand, 
raado smooth, and even on the surface, and when the 
| seed is sown it should bo coverod, slightly watered, and 
t duly shaded. All these points having been attended to, 
the cultivator may reasonably expect that the seed will 
grow and reward him for the extra trouble. It will 
I require attention to pluck up the weeds and keep a look- 
j out for slugs; and, perhaps, if the weather continues 
dry, a watering or two will bo necessary, but the pre¬ 
caution of shading and sheltering from drying winds 
will keep the soil longer moist, and, consequently, the 
watering-pot will not so often be in requisition. It is 
not desirable to water oftener than is absolutely neces¬ 
sary, for several reasons, the chief ono being the harden¬ 
ing the surface of the soil, so that the seed cannot break it, 
and, therefore, perishes for want of air. Many a sowing 
of small seeds has been destroyed by injudicious artificial 
watering, especially when shading has been neglected or 
dispensed with. Then, again, if watering must bo re¬ 
sorted to, it should be copiously applied, so much so as 
to give the soil a regular good soaking. Whenever I 
have occasion to water seed-beds, I have them gone 
over first liberally, and then, in half-an-hour afterwards, 
a second dose equal in quantity to the first is applied. 
These two waterings, combined with a shade, 1 have 
generally found sufficient to sprout and bring up most 
kinds of seeds, which require sowing during the sum¬ 
mer months. T. Appleby. 
{To be continued.) 
WOODS AND FORESTS. 
THE OAK. 
{Continued from page 220.) 
A foreigner, well acquainted with English history, 
travelling through these islands, expressed his great 
surprize at the stato of our Oak woods, and considered 
it a mark of no wisdom on tho part of John Bull to 
allow his woods to be so mismanaged and neglected, 
especially when that kind of wood entered so largely 
into those mighty ships which protect our shores, and 
cause our rights to bo attended to by all other nations. 
I heso observations I lately met with, and they encourage 
mo to persevere, even at the risk of being thought some¬ 
what todious and lengthy in my essays on Oak-culture. 
In my last paper, I endeavoured to describe the best 
method of sowing the Acorns on the spot where they 
are to form timber-trees, and finished by I'ecommending 
the ground to be kept clear of weeds. This operation 
must, of course, be repeated whenever necessary. The 
autumn following, the young Oaks will have attained, 
on tho average, about six inches in height; and, as I 
recommended their being sown in rows a foot apart and 
eight inches apart. Now, if they have all come up, it 
is evident they will require thinning, and this ought to 
bo done, in part, the first year. Tho seedlings so 
tliinned-out might be transplanted into nursery rows 
for future plantings. As to ensure regularity, there 
is nothing like method in all our works; the method 
the thinning man should put in practice is, to com¬ 
mence with the first row and take up the second plant, 
leaving the third and fourth, and then take up the fifth, 
and so on to the end of the row. This, as will be 
easily understood, leaves the plants in pairs, and these 
pairs should bo separated the second year. The next 
row, tho first and second plants should be left, and the 
third taken up ; the fourth and fifth left, and the sixth 
taken up ; and so on to the end of tho second row. It 
is evident, then, that the vacancies in each row will be 
alternate, which is right, because then tho trees will 
completely cover tho ground, and each will havo air and 
space equally on every side. The third row will bo 
thinned in the same way as the first; and thus the 
work should progress throughout tho whole plantation. 
As one or more men are going on with this thinning, 
others should be planting them in the nursery, and a 
third party should bo following on, digging carefully 
between the rows, injuring the roots as little as possible. 
This thinning, planting, and digging, should be, if 
possiblo, all done by the end of February. The whole 
