March 10, 1000 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
DIGITALIS PURPUREA MONSTROSA. 
Gardeners and seed growers have for some years 
been interested in a variety of the Foxglove, that 
produces a large and regular bloom on the top of the 
four weeks they should be fit to pot off singly into 
2^-in. pots, using similar soil as advocated above. 
Place them on a shelf near the glass, avoiding 
draughts and overwatering, and shade if necessary 
for a few days only. As soon as established remove 
the point of each, transferring them into 5-in. or 6-in. 
pots before the roots get entangled, using similar 
soil, except that it should be less fine. Add a little 
peat and mortar refuse, pinching again when estab¬ 
lished. P,ace in cold frames at end of April and 
outside a month later, staking each. Keep clear of 
fly.- J. Mayne, Bicton. 
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GIANT FLOWERED SWEET PEAS. 
No other annual has made such a rapid advance¬ 
ment within the last two decades as the Sweet Pea 
(Lathyrus odoratus). The improvement has been 
confined chiefly to the size, form, and colour of the 
flowers. A dwarf race has also been evolved. 
The giant-flowered race does not take its name 
from the increa:ed size of either stems or leaves of 
the plant, but refers entirely (o the size of the 
flowers, just as in a Chinese Primula or a Cyclamen. 
The great and increasing attention which is being 
given to Sweet Peas is but a reflex of their popu¬ 
larity, deservedly due to the intrinsic loveliness and 
right hand of the illustration are varieties having the 
upper petal (known also as the vexillum or standard 
spread out flat. There is alio a more or less evident 
notch at the apex of the expanded standard. The 
other type has an infolded or hooded standard. 
Some cultivators prefer the flattened form, and 
others the hooded flower. In our opinion, not only 
are both forms permissible in select collections, but 
each has a loveliness of its own, both serving to fur- 
Dish the variety desirable in a florist’s flower for 
garden and home decoration. The Messrs. Sutton 
have evolved their giant flowered race simply by 
careful observation and the selection of those in¬ 
dividuals producing extra large flowers During the 
process of working up a stock, all rogues are care¬ 
fully weeded out, so that in the course of a few j ears 
any particular new variety will be fixed and perma¬ 
nent, coming true to name. Many colours already 
exist in the giant slraio, such as white, sky-blue, 
da k blue, rich purple, scarlet, yellow, striped and 
other hues. 
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THE STAR CINERARIAS. 
Although all the Star Cinerarias are beautiful, in 
the opinion of many the bright blue varieties are far 
preferable. The rich blood or magenta coloured 
Digitalis purpurea mox.tr sa. 
fewer item. ThecrJinary flowers arc tubular and 
mere cr less droopirg, as every cultivator knows, 
but that under notice is op-Lly btll-shaptd and 
erect, locking stra'ght to the sky. By careful 
selection this fl ual curiosity has become more and 
more decided, distinct and constant, so that, accord¬ 
ing to our observation, a large percentage of the 
plants come true from seed. Only the tep flower 
behaves in this w ay, but by carefully crossing the 
drooping flowers with the erect one, and annually 
selecting and saving the most distinct, there is no 
telling what a cartful cultivator might bring about 
after a few years by perseverance. Messrs. J. 
Carter & Co., High Holborn, London, placed the 
accompanying illustration at our disposal. It will 
show at a glance the peculiar features of this 
strange development of the Foxglove. We have seen 
someihiug precisely similar amongst Peqtstemons, 
another genus belonging to the same natural order, 
but as far as we know there has been no attempt to 
perpetuate it as in the case of the Foxglove. 
TREE CARNATIONS. 
It is not too late to put in slips or cuttings of these; 
and with strict attention the same will afford a good 
supply of bloom from October onwards. Where 
practicable, pull out the slips from tbe main shoots, 
such requiring little or no trimming, being prefer¬ 
able to tops as they emit roots much quicker. Pre¬ 
pare 3 in. or 4 in. pots, filling same with a mixture 
of finely sifted loam, leaf soil and sand, not pressing 
too firmly, surfacing with a little sand, placing six 
to eight slips in each pot, around the sides only, and 
watering same with a fine pose can. Give bottom 
heat of yo ° with top heat of 55 0 to 60°, keeping 
close and shaded from the sun, affording little or no 
overhead moisture, as such settles in the axils of tbe 
grass, often causing decay of the slip. In about 
Sutton’s Giant-Flowered Sweet Peas. 
Copyright S . 
S . 
usefulness of the sweet scented flowers. By the 
courtesy of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Reading, we are 
enabled to place before our readers an illustration of 
their giant-flowered race, which includes the two 
leading types as far as form is concerned. On the 
varieties are certainly pleasing, and we wish 
them with us, but at this particular period of year 
with so much of white and yellow about indoors 
the blue becomes welcomed. But it is not an ordin¬ 
ary blue the blue of Cineraria stellata, it is dazzling, 
