414 THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION, March 17, 1857. 
in such establishments as Moor Park, &c., and perhaps 
it is only the want of knowing how acceptable they would 
be that prevents them doing so; for I, in common with 
“A New Subscriber,” have beds that are seen from the 
dining-room table, both south and west, and to let them 
remain empty till bedding-out time would never do for a 
reader of The Cottage Gardener, unless he reads to no 
profit. Therefore, with your permission, I will just give 
my own experience in furnishing the above beds during 
last year. The beds are circular, and raised about a foot 
above the lawn. 
No. 1 bed. First, a row of yellow Crocuses round the 
edge; next, a row of double Snowdrops, which I prefer, as 
being later than the single ones, and coming in with the 
Crocuses; then a row of Victoria Crocuses ; then a row 
of Sir Walter Scott; then one of Ne Plus Ultra as close as 
I can put them together (all in three-inch pots) from the 
Snowdrops. I then fill the bed with sorted Hyacinths in 
pots also, and all in bloom. This was on the 14th of March, 
and a cold day it was. I had grown the above in an old 
shallow' pit that was made for early Potatoes, and covered 
with thatched hurdles when the weather was severe. 
After putting in the above bulbs I put a ■ row of Nemo¬ 
phila instguis just inside the Snowdrops, and by the time 
the Crocuses and Snowdrops began to fade I had a belt of 
blue all round, and by the time the Hyacinths w'ere done it 
had very nearly covered the whole bed, and it concealed the 
consequences of their fading very much indeed. The Ne- 
mopliila is self-sown during the summer; and in the fall, 
when I am forking the beds, I remove that and Gilia and 
several other little things into a sheltered situation, where I 
can keep off heavy snows, and by this time they are nice 
sturdy plants, and I generally get a bed or two of the blue, 
and off again in time for other annuals. 
This bed lasted two months. I then carefully took up the 
bulbs in pots, put them back into their old quarters, and 
just as carefully turned back the Nemophila to the edge of 
the bed; then filled it with scarlet Geraniums, with scarcely 
a leaf on them larger than a shilling. I then placed the 
Nemophila amongst them, and in a few days it shot up as 
high as the Geraniums, and it puzzled a good many 
people to tell what it w'as at a little distance, and by the 
time the Nemophila began to fade the Geraniums made a 
very respectable appearance, and throughout the summer 
that bed was a perfect blaze. 
I began taking cuttings from them as soon as I found 
them getting too thick, and on the 27th of October I took 
up the Geraniums, and on the same day I filled the bed 
with Pompones, sorted colours, and they held out to the end 
of December. I could have filled it out again with Wall- 
fioxuers in pots, just to keep it green, as I had plenty by me; 
but I put them in a match bed not so much in view of the 
windows. 
No. 2 bed was Van Thol Tulips and Nemophila yrandi- 
flora , with one row of Crocuses; then fancy Geraniums; 
then Pompones, all yellow; and now, 7th of March, I am 
making preparations to follow out the same plan. 
I beg to say that I made covers for the above beds with 
hooks fastened together, and calico strained over them 
umbrella fashion, so that the beds were protected from 
frost and rough weather. 
A good while ago, when Mr. Beaton was writing about 
Roses on their own roots, you favoured us with a woodcut 
of the pots and cuttings, and made it so easy, that striking 
Roses is no more difficult than striking Gooseberry cuttings. 
Now, if you and Mr. Beaton would give us the same treat 
respecting grafting Geraniums, with the treatment they 
should have before and after, as I for one should like to be 
trying my hand at it this spring.— The Doctor’s Boy. 
PHOTOGRAPHY FOR GARDENERS. 
We propose giving our readers a few simple directions by 
which those of them who are not artists may be enabled to 
produce exact copies of any leaf, flower, or fruit whose 
shape they may wish to preserve. 
Leaving theory to others, w r e proceed at once with the 
practical. 
First, then, we need a photographic press. A simple and 
efficient one may be made as 
follows :—With four pieces of 
wood, of which the section is an¬ 
nexed, form a strong frame, the " 
rabbet being inwards. 
Into this a plate of strong glass 
is fitted, and a stout board cut ■■■ 
for a back a little smaller than 
the glass. Two staples are driven in each of the opposite 
sides of the back to receive the ends of moveable cross 
pieces. 
The back is cut in two, and hinged together in the middle 
with a piece of leather. It is kept in its place against the 
glass by wedges introduced between it and the cross pieces. 
The accompanying drawing shows the back of the frame 
when put together. 
Preparation of Paper. 
Solutions. Cost. 
A-— Forty grains nitrate of silver dissolved in one } „ , 
ounce distilled water.5 
B-—One ounce hyposulphate of soda in one pint } „ , 
of common water .) c ’ 
Several pieces of paper cut to the intended size are placed 
in a basin of salt and w'ater, mixed of such a strength that 
the taste of the salt is just perceptible. 
After ten minutes’ immersion they may be pinned up by 
one corner to dry. The next operation must be performed 
by candlelight, or, if in the daytime, with a screen of 
yellow calico over the window. 
A few drops of solution are poured on a flat sheet of 
glass placed on a level table, and spread out with the edge 
of a smaller piece of glass to the size of a sheet of the paper 
previously salted. Then a sheet having been marked at the 
corner, to show the prepared side, is lowered on the solution, 
the marked side being downwards. Here it must remain 
for eight or ten minutes, and can then be hung up in the 
dark to dry. The photographic paper thus prepared can be 
kept in a portfolio till required for the frame, and, if properly 
shielded from the light, will keep good several days. 
In taking the copy of a leaf we place it on the glass of 
our frame, and then the photographic paper, with its prepared 
side next the leaf. Over this a piece of black cloth is laid, 
then the back. The cross pieces being inserted, the wedges 
are pushed up until the leaf is pressed firmly against the 
paper, when the arrangement will be as shown in the 
accompanying section. 
A 
A. Staple. 
B. Cross piece. 
C. Wedge. 
D. Back. 
E. Prepared paper. 
F. Glass. 
G. Section through Frame. 
