May 4, 1889. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
565 
plantagineum, called excelsum, was in flower in the 
rockery. The herbaceous grounds look rather bare yet, 
but they will soon spring forth into full life and beauty. 
—Alfred Gaut. 
-->33o- 
THE PLEASANT SPRING- TIME. 
The closing days of April are doing wonders in de¬ 
veloping spring flowers and tints, while trees and 
shrubs, the hill side and the valley, are putting on 
their wondrous dresses of green, and every shade of the 
latter too. Not a few spring flowers are now in per¬ 
fection. The white Arabis albida, Aubrietias, Pul- 
monarias, Anemones, Alyssum saxatile, the Wallflowers, 
bottom-heat—gentle to suit some, stronger to suit 
others. The kind of soil they are sown in does not so 
very much matter. A compost to suit all kinds of 
seeds sown under glass can be made up of half good 
garden soil and half leaf-soil, with some silver-sand 
added. I think that many amateurs commit the 
mistake of sowing their seeds too deeply. Very small 
ones should be sown on the surface, with scarcely any 
covering ; others of large size may be J in. below the 
surface. 
I have found it an advantage to soak hard-skinned 
seeds like Cannas, Everlasting Peas, &c., twelve hours 
before sowing, but not putting them in until a like 
period has elapsed since they were taken out of the 
and all that are of an inferior character are planted out 
in a bed. They will live through one winter and give 
a capital head of bloom in the spring. The second 
winter settles a good many of them, but 1 do not 
trouble, as there are always plenty of seedlings to take 
their place. — R. D. 
--»=£<-- 
AMARYLLIS FINETTE. 
In plants that normally have red, pink, or rose 
flowers, hybridists have no difficulty as a rule in 
obtaining white ones ; indeed, under a state of nature, 
albino varieties are of frequent occurrence. From this 
point of view it is rather singular that the efforts of the 
Amaryllis Finette. 
Pansies, Daisies, Honesty, the fine blue Myosotis 
dissitiflora, Polyanthus, Primroses, and many others, 
are seen furnishing their quota to the general sum of 
floral beauty. The golden Alyssum makes a very fine 
and showy spring plant, but it is only in warm and 
sheltered nooks that it has as yet unfolded its flowers. 
Who can say too much in praise of Anemone fulgens 1 
I saw a large bed of it at Cliveden the other day, and 
when the flowers were fully expanded under the April 
sunshine it was a sight to be remembered. 
The Alyssum can be easily raised from seeds, while 
the Anemones should be grown from bulbs, which are 
now imported in very large quantities to this country. 
Most of the subjects named above can be raised from 
seeds. The main thing is to sow the latter at the right 
time, and treat the seedlings in a proper manner. As 
a rule, all seeds may be sown in the spring, at mid. 
summer, and in autumn. I am strongly in favour of 
raising all seeds that are not sown in the open air on a 
water. One gardener that 1 know Uses the silvery- 
leaved Centaurea candidissima largely for planting in 
his flower beds, and as I have known people confess to 
failures in getting the seeds of this useful subject to 
germinate, I may state that the method he adopts is to 
sow the seeds on the surface of the soil placed in 
shallow boxes or pans. No water is given either before 
or after sowing, but a hand-light or bell-glass covers 
them, and is kept there until the seedlings are through 
and becoming strong. As a matter of course, it is 
necessary to have the soil fairly moist at the time of 
sowing. 1 may mention that this plant can be in¬ 
creased by slipping off the side shoots in autumn, 
putting them into the ground in a cool shady place, 
and covering them over with a hand-light. Treated in 
this way nearly every cutting will strike, and very 
little trouble is given to the cultivator. 
What a charming bed can be made with Auriculas ! 
At this time of the year I bloom a good many seedlings, 
hybridist have not yet been rewarded with a pure 
white Amaryllis. The illustration above shows a 
near approach to the desired object. From the florist’s 
point of view the flower is greatly improved, the tube 
being very short with a broadly expanded lamina, and 
broad, much-imbricated segments. The whole flower 
is white, with slender lines of scarlet radiating from 
the base of the three upper segments, and similar 
lines on the upper side of the two lateral ones 
of the three lower segments, while the sixth segment 
is pure white. The stamens are also white, so that 
in Finette we have a really splendid acquisition, 
and from which we may expect to get a pure white 
form. It grows vigorously, and produces from four to 
six flowers on each scape. It was certificated by the 
Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society, 
on the 10th of April, 1888 ; and are indebted to 
Messrs. J. Veitch & Sons, Chelsea, for an opportunity 
of figuring it. 
