47 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
j April 25.] 
j lately obtained a fine seedling in the way of Judy, hut 
, a better cherry colour, yet it is too red for a pink bed; and 
l Lucia rosea is too light for a pink—besides, the flowers 
j do not well stand a strong sun. It makes a fine bed, never¬ 
theless, if planted where the sun does not reach it in the 
middle of the day. Of the fancy or pelargonium section 
we have only one fine pink bedding geranium, the 
old Diadematwm —the very gayest one can use for a bed. 
11 is, indeed, the pink of the flower-garden ; and never 
seeds—I wish it would ! Diadematwm rubescens is too 
red for a pink bed when we have so many. 
The Anagallis furnishes one variety which, though 
not a real pink shade, is a beautiful tiring for a bed. It 
is called carnea (flesh-colour); and, like all the anagal- 
lises, should be struck from cuttings early in the spring, 
as they are mijf'y things to get over a long winter. The 
best way to deal with them, is to keep a few plants of 
each sort in pots all the summer, plunged in sand or 
coal-ashes out of doors ; to let them flower till the end 
of July, and after that to cut off the flowering parts by 
degrees, as when the weather is hot and dry they are apt 
to die off if the whole head is cut off at once. As soon 
as the September rains come on they ought to be re¬ 
moved to some shelter, hut not to be confined so early; 
a glass frame, with a brick under each corner, is the best 
place for them, as long in the autumn as it is safe to 
leave them without danger from the frost; and then a 
shelf, high up near the door of a greenhouse, is the best 
place to winter them. They keep best in strong loam, 
without any peat or leaf-mould; and autumn-struck cut¬ 
tings are not to be depended on, but in the spring they 
root like weeds, in a few days, if in a hot-bed. 
Verbenas. —For several years we had no real good pink 
verbena for beds except Miller's Favourite , and, now, 
we have only two that surpass it— Beauty Supreme and 
Duchess of Northumberland. The latter is exactly in the 
way of the well-known Favourite (Miller’s), with a deeper 
and better colour; and if the two will mix well, as I 
believe they will, for I have not yet tried them, they 
will make a richer bed than either of them by itself. 
Standard of Perfection is, also, a good pink bedder, but 
is surpassed by Beauty Supreme ; and there is no im¬ 
provement by mixing these two together, as I have done 
last season, and I have, therefore, rejected Standard of 
Perfection. 
My list of verbenas last year amounted to 70 kinds, 
every one of which were grownhere, so that I must know 
something of them. In one part of the garden we planted 
two broad borders, on either side of a walk, with the 
whole collection of verbenas, and many visitors admired 
them; but I think that must have been from the novelty 
of seeing so many of them together; I cannot say that 
I felt satisfied with them; but I made notes of several 
names, which I think will make a tolerable show this 
season planted in the same way; and I shall give these 
names when I write on “ mixtures.” Meantime, I must 
observe of purple and pink beds, although I have written 
of them in succession, that they ought to stand wide 
apart in the flower-garden, and have some strong oolours 
put between them. D. Beaton. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Little Matters : Watering. — And what about 
watering? surely any one may water plants that has the 
ability to send the liquid out of the spout of a water-can 
by disturbing its equilibrium within. Aye! may, just 
as every one who can handle a rake, and drive a spade 
into the earth with his stalwart tread, may he a lull 
flodged gardener. Inattention to trifles, bold, assuming 
confidence, inflated self consequence, and high-stilted, 
conceited importance, are ever the offspring, not of 
knowledge but of ignorance. The most simple matters 
have depths in their philosophy, but when these depths 
are in a degree sounded, so that cause and effect are 
somewhat discerned, then simplicities become great I 
ness, and greatness simplicity, because the connection | 
between the one and the other is so far understood and 
known. Hence the great and the intelligent are the 
humble and the teachable, and no despisers of what are 
termed little matters ; having found that between the 
simple and the magnificent there is only, and scarcely, 
gradation in importance, t 
Thus, in the case before us, the most successful gar¬ 
deners consider the watering of their pot plants no 
trifling matter. They will at once tell you that failures 
often take place, either by their assistants allowing the 
plants to become frequently too dry, or by drenching 
them whether they need it or not, or by giving them a 
dribble every day—in some respects the worst of the 
three treatments, as the gardeners may be deceived with 
the moist surface, and believe all to be right, while the 
bulk of the roots might as well be in the sands of 
Sahara. Simple as the operation seems, no sooner 
do our amateur friends get fairly launched upon gar- J 
dening than they, too, begin to feel a sensation creep j 
over them that, after all, there is some little difficulty 
about it; and hence from such quarters one of the most , 
puzzling questions put to the gardeners in the neigh¬ 
bourhood (puzzling because it cannot be answered just 
in a breath to either party’s satisfaction) is, “ How often 
should I water my plants?” and part of what I am 
now going to write in reply is just what I have told to 
scores of sweet-toned, kind inquirers, whom it is a 
pleasure to have it in our power to oblige. 
The first thing to be kept in mind is, that the vege¬ 
table, though similar in many respects to the animal, 
creation, chiefly resembles that portion of it that gets 
into a dormant state at certain seasons, and only re¬ 
quires a full amount of food when the functions of 
vitality are in full activity. This state of activity exists 
in the vegetable only when it is growing freely, and 
when by means of light and heat it is enabled to effect 
the decomposing, assimilating, and perspiring agencies. 
According to these circumstances, therefore, will be the 
amount of nourishing matter and water required, and 
the frequency of their application. Hence, were I to 
tell you to water so many times a week I should only 
lead you into a great error, as, when in a dormant state, 
a plant may not require water for months; in cloudy, 
cold weather, even when growing, it may not require 
water for a week, while in warm, bright, sunny weather 
it may require refreshing twice a day. “ But cannot 
you give us a little practical ride, more definite than 
such a general one?” Yes—I might tell you to water 
your plants upon the same principle as you impart 
liquid to yourselves; but here, again, you may be led 
into error, unless you could previously certify to me 
that you belonged to that wise class of people who drink 
only when they are thirsty, as otherwise the applica- 
tion of such a rule might he as fatal to the poor plants 
as the tippling of various fluids is ruinous to those who 
resort to it, and none the less though they be prepared 
to contend that what is their real bane is in their case 
the most valuable antidote. The rule, therefore, of most 
general application is, to water thoroughly when you do 
water, so that the liquid will reach every root and fibre, 
and then wait patiently, without giving a drop, until your 
services are again required, and then, but not till then, 
repeat the process. 
The same principle applies to watering flowers or 
vegetables out of doors: a frequent dribbling on the 
surface, just as in the case of the flower-pot, does more 
harm than good. Thus, there is a vast storehouse of 
moisture in the earth, and the drier the surface the more 
will moisture be raised from beneath by evaporation . 
