Si 
THE COTTAGE G’AKMNKK AM) COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, Novembjsb 9,1858. 
of Good Hope plant, aud apt to get too large for a small I 
greenhouse ; otherwise, its small whitish-yellow flowers, 
produced freely at the points of the shoots, ill winter and 
spring, are very interesting. If the seeds are good, you 
will have little difficulty in raising it, as the plant at no 
time requires great nicety of culture. If you have many 
seedlings, it w ould be worth sending some to your friends 
in the south of England, and of Ireland, to try them out 
of doors. 
You may get some nice plants from your parcel, but I [ 
do not think it likely you will get anything new. Your ! 
chief reward will be the pleasure of attending, with 
all the required niceties, to so many young things, and 
to see them flourishing under your own treatment. 
Friends, situated as you are yourself, w'ould, no doubt, be 
glad to share with you such cares and such rewards. Do 
not bo sanguine, that you would oblige any of your pro¬ 
fessed gardening neighbours, by sending a portion of 
seeds to them. In most eases, they could not give the 
requisite time, attention, and convenience, unless well 
assured they would get something new for their trouble. 
11. Fish. 
FLORISTS’ FLOWERS. 
THE PANSY. 
At this time of the year, all the choice varieties of Pansies 
should be carefully attended to. Those intended for planting out 
next March should ho all potted singly in four-inch pots, and 
placed hi a cold frame through the winter. The soil to pot them 
iii should be composed of good fresh loam and vegetable mould, 
in equal parts, with a free admixture of silver or river sand. The 
lights should be drawn olf every mild day, and, in wet weather, 
air given behind. The- grand enemy to this class of plants is 
clamp, which often brings with it another pest, the mildew. 
Lamp should be prevented as much as possible, by giving the 
necessary supplies of water on dry mornings, when the sun 
shines ; and the lights should remain off till the surface water is 
evaporated. Decaying leaves should be instantly removed, as 
they breed mouldiness on even healthy loaves. If the mildew 
should appear, dust the affected leaves with sulphur. I always 
found that an effectual cure, if timely applied. Such as are in¬ 
tended to he exhibited in pots should now he nice, bushy plants, 
in five-inch pots ; and the shoots should bo pegged down, and 
shortened. The pots should stand on a layer of dry coal ashes, 
which should be renewed at least once a month ; and at every 
renewal the plants should be looked over, and all decaying leaves 
removed, and the soil stirred with a sharp-pointed stick. At the 
same time, keep a sharp look out for slugs and snails : these 
vermin creep into the frames in search of food and shelter. I 
have frequently found them secreted in the holes at the bottom 
of the pots. Hence, I advise the cultivator to turn up the pots, 
and look for thorn. 1 need scarcely add, when found, let them 
be destroyed. Worms will sometimes find then’ way into the 
pots, or, possibly, have been, in a young state, in the Boil at the 
time of potting. Their presence is easily discerned, by their 
casts on the surface. The best way to eradicate them, is to turn 
out the balls carefully, and pick out tho worms. Some conceal 
themselves in hollows, in the centre of the ball. Where this is 
suspected to be the case, tap the ball gently, and tho worm will 
creep out at tho surface, and may then be easily caught aud 
killed. 
Some plants will push up with a single stem, and become 
unsightly objects. This may be prevented by nipping off the 
tops. This point must be particularly attended to with plants 
grown in pots for exhibition purposes. 
Another point of some importance is, that the plants should 
he kept rather dry, than otherwise, during the dark, short days 
of winter. Common sense tells us, that when plants are not 
grovviug fast they do not require much stimulant, whether that 
stimulant be moisture or heat. Hence, Pansies should be kept 
moderately dry and cool during then - comparatively speaking- 
season of rest. If kept well watered and warm during that 
season, they may look fresh and nice, but in spring will be sadly 
deficient in power to produce large, richly-coloured blooms. 
The ground for the Pansy spring bed should now be well 
dug, and laid up rough, to receive the beneficial iullueuces of 
winter frost. 
Having written these few cultural remarks, which I trust will 
be useful to the new beginner, I now proceed to gir o my annual 
list of new and select sorts, as they have been proved worthy 
of notice during the past summer. 
Nine New Selected Varieties. 
SELE-COLOURED. 
1. King of Sardinia (Downie and Laird), light shaded blue 
self, of fine form and texture. A new colour. 
2. Mr. J. While (Downie and Laird), a rich dark glossy 
self, beautifully shaded with light blue. A well formed flower of 
good substance. 
3. Veciis (Smith), pure white self, with a dense dark blue 
blotch, well defined. Very fine and novel. 
YELLOW GROUNDS. 
4. Cyclops (Baylis), rich dark-violet maroon belting. A 
largo, finely-formed flower, of good substance. 
5. Maude (Campbell), rich yellow, with crimson maroon 
belt, and fine eye. Good form, and medium size. 
G. Tam Stewart (Walker), rich yellow ; medium dark belt, 
and good form. Very fine. 
WHITE GROUNDS. 
7. Fair Maid (Whittiugham), hglit ground ; belt bright 
purple ; eye good. Large and well formed. 
8. Lady Jane (Downie and Laird), pure white, heavily 
belted with dark purplish maroou ; large dense blotch. A lino 
variety. 
9. Triumphant (Eairbaru), broad purple margin. Extra lino 
form. 
Twelve Selected Older Varieties. 
SELI’S. 
Bessie (Hooper), deep yellow. Fine form. 
Jeannie's Rival (Sheauer), rich black purple. 
Sir Arthur (Stenliouse), rich dark, shaded with blue. 
Optimum (Robinson and C’o.), intensely dark. Very fine. 
YELLOW GROUNDS. 
Dr. Livingstone ; gold, with maroon margin. Fine. 
Eclipse (Downie and Laird), broad belt of crimson maroon. 
Dense blotch, and extra fine form. 
Model (Dickson and Co.), rich maroon belting. A r ery good. 
William (Reid), rich purple maroon beltiug. Extra fine. 
WHITE GROUNDS. 
Fhe Lighihody (Campbell), dark purple margin ; solid blotch. 
Fine form. 
Margery (Blair), rich dark purple belt. Good eye, and fine 
form and substance. 
Lady Matlieson (Downie and Laird), broad rich purple belting. 
A good variety. 
1’nncess Royal (White and Sinclair), light creamy ground, 
with heavy purple belling; large solid blotch, and bold eye. A 
well-defined variety.—T. Atpledy. 
EARLY PEAS. 
Few novelties are more welcomed at table than a nice dish of 
Boas, more especially the first dish of the season, To have them 
as early as possible lias been for many years a source of anxious 
care on the part of the cultivator, and some little rivalry generally 
exists between neighbouring growers, as to who shall have tho 
honour of gathering the first dish. This laudable emulation has 
not passed unnoticed by seedsmen and seed-growers, who, falling 
into the views of tho cultivators, have furnished many so-called 
varieties of early Peas. Sonic of these are doubtless better than 
tho old ones, while others are nothing more than repetitions of 
the same kinds we have had so long, only issued with a high- 
sounding name. Nevertheless, if the bulk of the new kinds be 
only old ones in a new form, those that are really good com¬ 
pensate for the deterioration of the old ones ; for I am of opinion 
that most varieties have a tendency to return to their original 
condition. Consequently, it becomes the careful cultivator to 
guard against this by the introduction of newer kinds ; and 
whether these he better than the best kinds grown twenty years 
ago is not so much a matter of importance, for it is pretty evident 
that the kinds grown at that distant period would have de¬ 
generated very much ere this. Let us, therefore, not despise 
really new kinds, but old oues under new names, with no other 
distinctive feature than their name and costliness. It is, there- 
