March 18. 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
887 
Small pellets of very soft moss, or cotton, placed between 
the footstalks, will spread the pips far enough from 
each other to allow each individual flower to expand 
fully without touching each other; and if there be more 
than eight pips, take the worst away. These may be 
the forwardest or the latest, for the one that blooms first 
is often inclined to fade before the rest are open. Then 
place the pips, as to distance, just as you would like 
them to be shown, and they will retain their places 
after the pellets are withdrawn, which, however, should 
only be after they have arrived at the place of show; 
the llowers will then, generally, maintain the places in 
which they have been growing for the last fortnight. 
The best-looking truss is seven; one centre, and six 
round it, will touch edge to edge exactly, if they are of 
a size, as may be seen by putting a coin on the table, 
and six others of similar dimensions round it, and this 
should be the state of the truss when exhibited. Recol¬ 
lect, however, that if the white or paste be cracked; if 
the colour break through the edge, or the edge break 
through to the paste or white; if the colour be not all 
alike, but shows paler at the edges, all, or any of these 
faults, are very detrimental. The pips should be sound; 
the white eye circular; the yellow tube circular; the 
ground colour and edge equal in width; the green, or 
gray, or white decided; the paste or white very smooth 
and clear, and the flower altogether perfectly flat. If 
you show a pair, let them be well contrasted, and both 
of a height, if possible; a green edge and a gray, form 
the best contrast. The largest pair we ever saw, was 
Fletcher’s Ne Plus Ultra and Watner’s Conqueror of 
Europe. The best we ever saw was Page's Champion 
and Grimes's Privateer, but we scarcely expect to see 
them so fine again. 
THE ANTIRRHINUM. 
The Antirrhinum has long been considered by us a weed 
not worth cultivating, unless it be by some determined 
amateur enthusiast, who will “ elevate it to the rank of a 
florists’ flower,” not as we are going on now with miserable 
scratchy things, as if a dirty white, or something, was 
splashed over another dirty colour, but with something 
definite. When Caryophiloides was first put forth, it was 
hailed as a valuable, because it was a new, variety. It was 
strongly marked like a bad flaked carnation, but the 
character was new, and this one point has been pretty 
nearly the only one that any of the weeds since claimed; 
whereas, the old A. piclum, with its white tube and crimson 
lip, is worth all the lot raised since. It is essentially a 
border-flower, and should look bright at a distance. It is 
in its very nature too coarse to be brought near the eye, 
and is, therefore, not adapted for pot culture; all trumpery 
variegations, with spots, as if they had been peppered, are 
absolutely worthless. Selfs, unless distinct in colour, and 
that colour dense, are good-for-nothing. We want a broad 
lip, full of colour, a tube as much contracted as possible. 
If the tube be white, all the shades of red and orange and 
purple would contrast. If yellow, the darker the lip the 
better, but it should not partake of yellow—hence an orange, 
unless dark, would be a poor contrast; though, if a deep 
orange, it would form a tolerable contrast with a pale lemon- 
yellow. Generally, however, all the varieties are too near. 
A positive self is better than two colours near each other, 
and most of the varieties, even the best, are so blended, that 
it is a mere struggle between the two. In the border or 
bed, a self, scarlet, or crimson, or orange, would be accept¬ 
able ; but two decided colours, one for the lip, the other for 
the tube, would look infinitely better. As the lip, however, 
exhibits the inner surface of the flower, which is velvety, 
and the tube the outer surface, which is smooth and waxy, 
the former should be large, spread out well, and conceal its 
divisions. Let he who determines on improving this flower, 
procure half-a-dozen of the very best—seifs and party- 
coloured, or even two or three—let one of them be Piclum , 
one the darkest self that can be had; another the best 
yellow ; one the brightest scarlet; one maybe chosen for its 
size, so it be not striped or speckled, and from these, apart 
from all others, save the seed from which to procure finer 
varieties. Throw away everything at all inferior the 
moment the bloom can be seen, and from the best of this 
first batch of seedlings save seed to make another effort j 
with. In the mean time, if the best be really an advance, 
such as Piclum on a larger scale, or with a broader lip, or any | 
other manifest improvement, it may be worthy of a name, | 
but it is only by this means we can hope to raise this now 
trumpery weed into a flower worthy of adoption by the 
British florist. Some persons may feel inclined to procure 
seed with a view to saving a year. They will have all their 
trouble for nothing. Seed grown for sale, and saved from 
general collections, will bring nothing worthy of the trouble 
they require, and preclude the possibility of saving any 
really good after the manner we recommend. 
W. Soames .—The plant sent is not new. It is Ceanothus 
Pit/id us, sent out years since by the Horticultural Society. 
The Verbena blooms are quite out of character. They will 
not even be the same colour when properly grown, but they 
do not promise much for form. The petals are narrow and 
notched. G. Glenny. 
BURNING RUBBISH, VERSUS CHARRING. 
Much has been said of late of the value of charred 
materials for cultural purposes, and the cottager and ama¬ 
teur have been strongly advised to preserve everything 
likely to be of service in that way, or, in other words, to 
subject everything to the action of fire which that element 
makes any impression on. Now, it is far from my purpose to 
find fault with such a system, but there are some things 
connected with it that I cannot comprehend, or rather 
overcome, without incurring an amount of labour more than 
commensurate with the value of the article obtained, and 
I have, therefore, in many cases, taken another course with 
the refuse materials which, in every place, accumulate at 
the rubbish-lieap. 
In dissenting from those who advocate charring everything 
that comes in their way, I do not, however, by any means 
assert that a heap of refuse chips, Ac., in a carpenter’s yard, 
or bundles of gooseberry cuttings, and similar small ware,may 
not all undergo the action of fire, without being consumed, 
and in their altered condition confer a greater benefit to 
the land than they could have done in any other form ; but, 
then, are we not to reckon something for the trouble of char¬ 
ring, to say nothing of the vexation of trying and failing to do 
it, which it is ten to one but the inexperienced will fall into 
on his first attempt ? But the materials above-mentioned 
form the best and earliest portion of the catalogue of things 
we are told may undergo the operation of charring, they 
being (when not saturated with moisture) of a highly com¬ 
bustible nature, and, after being manufactured, are of a 
portable size. Not so, however, the barrow-loads of cabbage- 
stalks and other vegetable refuse, which can only be expected 
to burn by the aid of a better kind of fuel, so that it be¬ 
comes a question whether that fuel is properly applied when 
put to such a purpose. Now, we have so often miscarried 
in our attempts to char substances thus difficult to con¬ 
sume by fire, that we are inclined to call in question 
the doctrine which insists “ on charring everything and 
burning nothing.” But suppose we take a little wider 
range, and bring to our heap (what is very often brought 
there) the stumps and roots of trees, ugly, awkward rem¬ 
nants of shrubs, and other things of that sort; might we ask 
if we are to be at the trouble of cutting all these up into 
pieces suitable for digging into a flower-bed, or putting into 
a flower-pot? Most certainly not; unless for the latter 
purpose, we think they would be too costly to be done to 
any extent. What, then, is to be done with these stumbling 
blocks, are they to be burnt to ashes as they lie ? To that 
w r e also reply a most decisive “No;” and now proceed to 
detail the purpose to which we have applied these odds and 
ends. 
Tn the first place, we must say that the locality where we 
adopted the following course abounded in loamy clay, and 
was in an out-of-the-way-place, where that material could bo 
