November 27. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER, 
131 
enormous size. E. B’s. specimen maybe tall, but those j 
grown from the tops, with six leaves, remain dwarf and 
handsome. This is no idle theory. There is no art in 
growing large combs, but there is some in producing 
handsome dwarf ones. We have had them fairly cover 
a twelve-inch pot, and the leaves project considerably. 
Verbenas (T. M ).—Specimens neither their natural 
colour nor form. There is no dependence on such late 
blooms. There is promise in number four, the breadth 
of petal and its freedom from notch are good points. 
The notch is the prevailing fault, even of some of the 
best; we do hope to see round blooms some day. There 
is what the botanical works call a sulphur-coloured Ver¬ 
bena, but we do not know where to obtain it, we think 
it was called Sulphured, but it must be nearly twenty 
years since we saw it, and then thought it a poor 
apology for its name. It was introduced in 1831 or 2, 
from Chili. Mdlindres was from B. Ayres, 1827, which 
also gave us Pulchella, Rugosa, and Venom. Nearly 
all the species were introduced from 1820 to 1837, but 
the species so called have given place to garden varieties. 
We should like to see if something approaching a yellow 
could be obtained from Sulphured by seed. 
Oestrum Aurantiacum (P. P). —The orange-coloured 
flowers will, under good management, continue to suc¬ 
ceed each other as long as the plant is continued in 
growth, every shoot will send forth its bunch like that 
sent to us. We saw it three years ago in the conserva¬ 
tory of Mr. Salter, as large as a lilac tree of seven years 
old, and flowers all over it, but we have treated a plant 
or two rose fashion, and spurred them in to one or two 
eyes in the ripe one-year-old shoots, and thus bloomed 
the plant less than a foot high. We consider it a hardy 
greenhouse plant, and one of the most showy in cultiva¬ 
tion. When the wood is ripe, and before the new growth 
begins to show itself, cut in tolerably close as you would 
a dwarf rose. It properly blooms in autumn, but we 
have had it up to Christmas. 
M. D.—There cannot be a better permanent yellow 
for the borders than Calceolaria engosa. It will bloom 
in July, and continue in profuse flower until the frost 
cuts it down. It has, too, one of our strongest recom- 
| mendations, the flower forms by much the larger portion 
! of the plant, literally covering the surface of foliage, 
j which is of itself pretty. 
A. L.—The plant which in its withered state had 
i greatly the appearance of one of the Acacias, has 
| recovered in water, and is evidently a Ruscus, perhaps 
j R. Hypophyllum, 
Selection of Chrysanthemums (A. D ).— 1,5, 0, 7, 
8, not worth growing, and ought not to have been sent 
within the last two or three years. 2, Nancy ile sermet ; 
3, Temple of Solomon; 4, Queen of England ; 9, Annie, 
Salter-, 10, Lady Talford; 11, Ooliah; 12, Tasselled 
Yellow. Why not send to the dealer for the names ? 
We should send the others back, they are among the worst 
i of the old ones, and have nothing to recommend them. 
Fuchsias (C. M.J. —In recommending anything for 
showers, we do not profess to run through all of even 
our own old favourites, but to point out such as 
decidedly beat them. Without entering into particulars 
we would simply observe that Purity, Lucantha, Cri¬ 
terion, Beauty supreme, Exquisite, &c., have been fairly 
beaten by newer varieties, and, in such case, without 
calling upon florists to throw away their old favourites, 
we enjoin them to grow new ones that are better, and 
they will soon see which they can spare best, Those we 
recommend have some better points. They reflex better, 
or have a better contrast, or a better habit. Mayle him¬ 
self sent out a beat upon his Purity, which does not 
reflex, while his Hebe, Lady Dartmouth, Bride, &c., did. 
Newberries’ Delicate was adopted from the seedling 
plant by us, but when beat in the habit we let it go by. 
Ivendali’s Elizabeth was selected by us as a better flower 
than his Beauty supreme, and yet too much like it for 
any one to want both. There will be some mistakes 
made this year, through one or two of the best novelties 
having been shown under number in one place, and 
named in another, and one or two others having been 
reported under two names. For instance, in our notes 
we find Diamond and Diadem either the same tiling or 
near enough for our notes to be similar. Then Banks’s, 
No. 1., was said to be named Leda and Leader. How¬ 
ever, we do not neglect a good old variety until a new 
one in the same way has beaten it. 
A. J.—We cannot identify anything coming out by a 
drawing sent to us. We find so much difficulty in 
getting an artist to give us the peculiar features which 
decide the merits of a flower, even while we are standing 
over him, that we place no dependence whatever on a 
drawing. In the one before us the thing is altogether 
too mechanical to be true. We would not even buy it 
from the drawing. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS CULTURE. 
the pink —(Continued from page 38). 
Propagation. By Cuttings, or, as they are called by 
florists, Pipings .—Pinks are more easy to propagate by 
pipings than carnations; the latter, in consequence, are 
generally propagated by layers. The reason why pinks 
succeed better, is, no doubt, because their pipings are | 
not so gross, or full of sap, as the carnation, and, there¬ 
fore, are not so liable to damp off during the period 
before roots are formed. 
Season for Piping Pinks .—The time for this work 
depends upon the growth of the plant. As soon as the I 
side-shoots are long enough, they may be taken off and 
put in. This will generally happen about the end of 
May, or beginning of June. The earlier it can be done, | 
the better plants the pipings will make ; and, in conse¬ 
quence, will stand a better chance of passing through 
the winter unharmed, and will flower the finer the 
following season. 
The pipings maybe planted in various ways, either in 
pots, under a frame, or under hand-lights. For an 
amateur, perhaps, the pot method will bo the most 
convenient, and also the most certain. The materials I 
necessary for this purpose are a good sharp knife, a few 
bell-glasses, and pots to match them. The soil most 
suitable is good light sandy loam, without any ad¬ 
mixture, and a portion of pure white sand to place on 
the surface. All these should be got ready some time 
before they are wanted. When the pipings have grown 
large enough to take off, that is, when they are two or 
three inches long, proceed to cut, not pull, them off, as is 
sometimes done, — thus needlessly injuring the parent 
plant. Cut them as close to the old plant as you please, 
but do not injure the stem. When as many pipings as 
one variety will afford, or as many as may be required 
of it, are cut off, put a number or name to them, and 
then dress off close the lower leaves, plant them, and 
place the tally to them at once to prevent eonfusiou. 
Do not cut off the ends of the leaves that are left. 
This is commonly practised without any sensible reason 
for the mutilation—the leaves of pinks are not so large j 
as to require it, if the pipings are of the right size;—give j 
a gentle watering to settle the sand close to each piping, J 
and plant them so far within the rim of each pot as i 
to leave room for the bell-glasses'to rest upon the sand 
within the pot. Proceed thus till all the varieties | 
desirable to propagate are finished, and then place them 
with the bell-glasses over them in a frame covered with 
glass, on a very gentle hotbed, cither of stable litter or 
spent tanner’s bark. If judiciously done, and carefully 
attended to with water when necessary, and shaded from 
the bright rays of the sun, almost every piping will root 
and make a plant. Directly roots are formed give 
