256 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[Jui.Y 24: 
gardener, already crippled for want of room and re¬ 
sources; these seeds being sent by some dear friend of 
his employers, accompanied with a request that all 
should receive a fair trial, and with descriptions on each 
packet sufficient to make the uninitiated believe that 
each and every of them were gathered from plants that 
for elegance and beauty were unrivalled “ on this side 
of the moon.” Of course, we allude not to those seeds 
sent home by regular collectors who know what they are 
doing; nor yet of seeds sent home collected by gentle¬ 
men who have botanical and floral tastes, and a fair- 
knowledge of what has been already introduced, as well 
as of what of these have been set aside, as unworthy 
of being grown for decorative purposes; for in such 
cases gardeners would be but too anxious to have a 
hand in rearing and flowering them. But we allude to 
the great mass of flower seeds from abroad that reach 
the hands of amateurs and gentlemen fond of, but young 
in, gardening; seeds gathered by a friend, who, though 
extremely ignorant of plants at home, is supposed to be 
perfectly conversant in the beautiful , the good, and the 
j new, when he gets located on some far-away island, or 
remote continent; or culled by some one equally skilled 
with himself, to whom he has delegated the responsi¬ 
bility ; or to save trouble and bother, obtained from the 
seedsman in the locality, to whom he has given a general 
order, and who, looking at the matter in a commercial 
point of view, may be more interested in quantity than 
i quality. These are the collections that the gardener 
, looks upon with dismay. He knows that after all his 
care and trouble in sowing, pricking out, potting, water¬ 
ing, &c., not one plant in a hundred will be worth the 
keeping; and that one, probably, will require treatment 
which lie cannot give, owing to limited means and con¬ 
veniences. All that is worth retaining he might have 
got from a nurseryman for a shilling or two, and saved 
pounds expended in carriage and labour, as well as the 
pain of witnessing blank looks from his employers, from 
disappointed hopes. Advocates as we are for straight¬ 
forwardness in everything, as constituting ever in the 
end the best policy, as it the only honourable one, we 
could not greatly condemn those side measures the gar¬ 
dener tries for evading altogether the touching of these 
fine seeds; one of the most successful of which is getting 
the responsibility of rearing them fixed upon the 
shoulders of some one possessing larger means and in 
whom his employers have great confidence; and who, 
after looking sagely over them, and duly, with thanks, 
acknowledging their reception, so manages the matter 
that few, or none of them, are ever more heard of. Am 
I wrong in making such statements? Many would say, 
undoubtedly so. I think not. Those with limited 
means should grow what is proved to be worth cultiva¬ 
tion ; and for the management of which they have 
suitable means. Packets of exotic seed, in their case, 
should consist entirely of novelities or scarcities. Even 
then, it would often be to their interest to get them 
reared by tradesmen who have extensive means at their 
command. Division of labour here, as everywhere else, 
tends to the benefit of the consumer. We could give 
| many an illustrative anecdote about these rickled up pack- 
j ages of foreign flower seeds. One, some years ago, amused 
us vastly. As a return kindness, we were offered a 
share of plants reared from foreign seeds, collected and 
sent home at great trouble and expense, by a friend of 
| the family. Nicely the seedlings looked in a sweet 
hotbed; but there did not appear to be a novelty among 
them. It was evident the seedsman, and not the excur¬ 
sion amateur, had been at work. But the best of the 
joke was, that most of them were annuals, that would 
have been more at home if sown in the boi-dor in April; 
and my impression was, that it was likely these identical 
seeds had crossed the water first, before re-crossing it 
again to their present locality. 
Let me not be misunderstood; I have no wish to 
damp the ardour for raising plants from seed. There is 
a pleasing appropriating principle about them, which j 
you can hardly feel in the case of plants purchased. 
There are other cases, in which plants so reared are 
looked on with affectionate interest, as momentos of I 
the past, and foreshadowings of the future, and that j 
scarcely the less though the individual plant be rough 
and weedy-looking. But as a general principle, where 
space is limited, there should not be much doing in 
plants from seed, about the properties of which you can 
manage to learn little until you see them. Seeds of 
established favourites can generally be procured cheapest j 
in the home market. If, however, some friends still 
prefer receiving packets from abroad, we would still 
oblige them if we could. I will, therefore, give a more 
detailed answer respecting plants so raised by a corres¬ 
pondent of last week, and then mention some things to 
be attended to in the successful germination and growth 
of such seeds. 
First, then, the inquiries are these: “Will Cape 
shrubs, raised in England, from seed sent from the 
Cape, grow out of doors without protection during the 
winter?” Few, or none. The place where seeds are 
raised makes scarcely any difference as to their power 
to resist damp and frost. Our correspondent evidently 
is influenced by views held by some, of our ability by 
successive sowings, to naturalise plants that are too 
tender for our climate, but we see little proof for such an 
opinion. Secondly. “ If hardy enough, should they be 
planted out now, or kept in the greenhouse until next 
year ? ” Wants that are in the least tender are the better 
for being some size before they are transferred to the open 
air. If still growing freely, the larger the better, if the 
roots are not injured. Many climbers in greenhouses, 
many plants that are half-hardy, turned out against 
conservative walls, receive a check which they may 
require years to get over, merely by turning them out in 
a very young state. Thirdly. “Different plants may 
require different treatment; what in that case should be 
that of Templetonia, &c. ?” Hei-e the first thing that 
strikes us is that the seedsman at the Cape, rather than 
the collector, has been instrumental in sending the 
seeds of these shrubs; as several out of the few men¬ 
tioned, are not generally supposed to be natives of the 
Cape! The first-mentioned is a native of New Holland. 
Templetonia requires to be grown in sandy peat, with a 
little fibry loam, well drained. Temperature in winter 
seldom below 40°. Templetonia glauca is a nice plant, 
with crimson flowers, and might be tried against a 
conservative wall, where it could receive a little protec¬ 
tion, and the roots be kept dry during the winter. 
New Zealand Willow. —We hardly know what this is, 
unless it be the Leptospermum scoparium, which bears 
large white flowers, on long flexible shoots, and is one 
of the few Leptospermums, that are natives of New 
Zealand. Treatment similar to the above, with more 
loam in the soil, and might also be tried against a wall. 
This is not a native of the Cape! 
“ Meterosideros." —Grow it in equal parts of sandy 
loam and peat. Temperature in pots not below 38° to 
45°; where plants were abundant might also be planted 
against a wall and protected. 
“ Kennedya purpurea." —We presume you have mono- 
phyUa or microphylla, for which use two parts sandy 
peat, ono part fibry loam, with a little charcoal, and 
broken pots mixed with it, to assist good drainage. 
Temp., 40° to 48° in winter. We have seen rubicunda 
and p>rostrata tried against a conservative wall, with 
fair chances of success. 
Yellow Cassia. —Think it very likely that yours may 
be Cassia Barclayana or Australis, both of which pro¬ 
duce showy yellow blossoms for three months after Mid- 
