384 
THE COTTAGE OARDENEE. 
I'EBilUARY 17. 
be expected, does not produce better ilowers. The 
remedy is easy enough. If a first-rate Pelargonium 
does not produce seed, there is a cause why. If the 
flower is carefully examined, it will bo found the anthers 
are barren, and eonse(][uently the stigma is unfertilised. 
In such a case pollen must be had from some otlicr 
flower with properties as good as the barren variety. 
Apply this pollen to the stigma, and seed full of vitality 
will be the fruit of the application. 
It is not good^ to save seed only from one variety 
uuhybridised ; save it from several of different colours, 
and the chances of success are in proportion multiplied. 
Caro must bo taken that the pollen is jjroeured from 
well-formed flowers, and apjdied to the stigma of such 
as are well-formed also (this form I shall describe 
shortly). By such precautions, good seed, that will 
produce more or less improved varieties, will be obtained. 
As soon as this carefully hybridised seed is ripe it 
should be gathered, or it will bo blown away. Put it 
in a paper bag, and bang it up in a dry room till spring. 
About the middle of February bring under cover some 
loam, peat, and leaf mould to dry, and, as soon as they 
arc so, mix them in equal proportions, adding some 
sand to give it a sandy character, and to allow tlic water 
to ])ass through the com 2 )ost in every part. Place a 
seed-pan or two also to dry, and see that they are clean, 
and also have ready a quantity of broken potsherds for 
drainage. Place a good layer of this drainage over the 
bottom of the seed-pan, and upon it a layer of the 
rougher parts of the compost. Fill up the remaining 
space with the compost itself, and level it gently with a 
flat piece of wood, or the bottom of a common garden 
pot; give it then a good watering, thoroughly moisten¬ 
ing the whole contents of the seed-pan. Let it stand by 
quietly till the surface is 2 )artially dry, and then sow the 
seed carefully in rows across the seed-pan,' giving each 
seed about half-an-inch square. My reasons for thus 
sowing the seed are to prevent them from damping off 
by being too much crowded if sown irregularly, and to 
give each seedling a better p)Osition, and more space to 
expand its roots and seed leaves; for it must be remem¬ 
bered, that if only two or three seedlings fog off, these 
may be the very ones that would be superior to the old 
ones; therefore, sow thin, and, to make sure, sow in 
rows singly. When all are sown, cover them a quarter- 
of-an-inch with some of the compost that has been sifted, 
give a very slight watering, just to damp the covering, 
and place the pans in a house or frame heated to 
55° or 00°. 
The seed will quickly vegetate, and as soon as the 
seed leaves are fully formed, and the real leaves are 
advanced a little, pot them ott' singly into what are 
called thumb-pots, and replace them in the gentle heat as 
near the glass as j)ossible. Let them have a due jjortion 
of air every mild day, and as soon as the roots reach 
the sides of the pots, shift them into others two sizes 
larger. By this time the days will be longer and 
1 warmer, and the seedlings may then be placed in a 
i cold frame, or pit, and have the glass light drawn 
oil' every flne day to cause the plants to grow stout 
and dwarf. After they have been so jilaced for a 
month, give them their linal shift, till they bloom, into 
5-inch pots. Several may flower that season, and every 
one that is well formed, with bright colours, should be 
carefully preserved, whilst inferior ones may either be 
thrown away, or planted in the borders till frost destroys 
them. Should the raiser be rewarded with a really 
first-rate flower, let him name it, and send it to some 
e.xbibitiou, and there it will obtain the approbation of 
the judges, and thus have a character and a value set 
iqion it. Any that may not flower the first year, will 
certainly do so the second. These should be kept in their 
5-inch jiots, which will cause them to flower early the 
following yeai’; but as soon as they show flower-buds. 
they should have a gentle shift to bring out the blooms 
in lull perfection and show. 
Should any of these seedlings i)rove excellent and 
superior to any old varieties, or obtain prizes, the raiser 
should immediately jirojiagate them by cuttings, for i'ear 
the original plants should iiorish, a circumstance not at 
all unlikely to happen if they are at all neglected. 
The space allowed me is nearly filled, and 1 shall 
close this jiaper on raising seedlings by observing, that 
the zealous and enterjirising florist must not despair if 
he fails in his first attempt at raising seedlings, but per¬ 
severe and try again and again, till success crowns Ids 
efforts and rewards him for all his pains. 
T. Al'rLEBY. 
(7'o be conliniied.) 
rilESE RVATIVE WALLS. 
{Continued from page 344.) 
LIST or PLANTS SUITABLE TO PLANT AGAINST TlIEJl. 
Bignonia capreolata. —An ornamental climber, with 
reddish Ilowers; produced from side-shoots of the last 
year’s wood. 
Bignonia crucigera. —^Another handsome climber, 
from South America, with yellowish flowers; requires 
more protection than the first-named species. 
Bdublea globosa. —Though this plant is haidy 
enough to bear our ordinary winters, yet, it is so very 
ornamental, and produces its fine bunches of yellow 
globular flowers so freely, that I think it worthy of a 
jilace against a wall, es^iecially if it is not heated or 
covered with glass. 
Boddlka Linuleyana. — This species is more tender, 
but will live and flower much finer against a Preserva¬ 
tive Wall than in a pot. The flowers are ornamental, 
and of a violet colour. 
BuGAiNVjLLAiA spECTABiLis. ■—Tliis iilaiit lias beeii 
thought difficult to flower. It has been hitberto grown 
in this country in warm greenhouses, and that is the 
reason why we have not flowered it. Planted against 
one of these walls, and allowed to run almost wildly, 1 
am confident it would produce its splendid rose-coloured 
flowers. 
Burchellia capensis (Cape Burcbellia).—Though 
this 2 flant is usually considered so tender as to require 
the stove to grow it well, 1 am of opinion, that it 
would thrive well against a Preservative Wall, covered 
with glass, and heated; especially in the southern 
countries. 1 have grown it very well in a warm green¬ 
house, and flowered it there during the summer months, 
long after those grown in the stove had ceased to bloom. 
In fact,- I believ'e it to be much more hardy than is 
generally supposed. 
Buxus balearica (Minorca Box).—In the northern 
parts of Britain this line evergreen box requires a slight 
protection. A cold wall will suit it admirably. 
Calothamnus. —This genus is a native of Australia, 
and, like most of the 2 dRnts from that country, only 
requires protection from frost. As they are all beautilid 
shrubs, with bunches of scarlet flowers, they arc worthy 
2 ilants for the Preservatory AVall. The best ai'e G. gra¬ 
cilis, G. Knightii, and G. quadrifolia. 
Caaiellia .japonica. —A largo family of handsome 
shrubs and splendid flowers, now universally known. 
There is no class of shrubs so suitable for a structure 
such as I have described under the name of a “ I’reser- 
vatory ” and they are well worth a considerable degree I 
of attention to grow them well. The border sbould | 
be formed of peat and loam in equal paits, and 2 ’ut > 
in without sifting; the drainage should bo effectual, i 
for the roots of Camellias are very impatient of stagnant 
water, or wet, sour soil. Therefore, lot the drainage bo 
