286 
THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
as many varieties represented. Some of our growers 
have entirely discarded the ordinary mixtures, substi¬ 
tuting seedlings only. And from American seedlings 
have come some of extraordinary beauty, and have 
been given distinctive names. Some of these are 
already offered by the trade, but some of the most 
remarkable ones canuot be offered for some years to 
come, as the increase is very slow, and as it requires a 
considerable number to supply the demand when once 
quoted. 
Among the seedlings not before described, we notice 
the following in Messrs. Young & Elliott’s collec¬ 
tion, grown by Messrs. Hallock & Thorpe, Queens, 
N. Y. : 
Octoroon. —This is a decided acquisition, being among 
Gladioli an entirely new color—a rich buff salmon. 
The spike is long, and the flowers are large, well formed 
and closely arranged, and many open at the same time. 
Red Cloud. —Set flame-color, shaded with maroon. A 
large and pleasing flower, good spike. Yale. —Another 
remarkable flower, color flush rose, violet base with 
dark crimson flames. Blonde. —Palest pink, buff lower 
petals ; a pleasing flower. Williamette. —Rich pink 
with darker pink hues, and rich lemon centre ; flowers 
well arranged on a long spike, Harvard. —Rich laven¬ 
der ground with rose-magenta markings, and white 
feathered lower petals. This combination of colors, 
with fine large flowers in a dense spike, makes this a 
desirable and pleasing variety. 
The following new varieties grown by C. L. Allen & 
Co., Garden City, N. Y., were conspicuous in Messrs. 
Peter Henderson & Co’s, collection : 
John Thorpe. —Brilliant scarlet, with pure white line 
through each petal; spike long, flowers well opened, large 
and well arranged. A very showy flower. Pure White. 
—This is what it represents itself to be; in ordinary 
weather it is absolutely pure white, in very hot weather 
it is slightly tinted with pink. Helen. —A very beautiful, 
bright canary-yellow, with darker yellow shadings and 
rich crimson markings on the three lower petals. The 
flower spike very long, flowers medium size and well 
arranged; but few varieties have so many perfect 
flowers open at the same time. Florence. —An im¬ 
mense spike of very large well arranged flowers; 
color clear pink with darker pink markings and a deli¬ 
cate white line running through the centre of each 
petal. In this collection of seedlings were a very large 
number that have been selected for name, but are yet 
on probation, as many varieties are much better the 
second season of their flowering, while others that 
gave fair promise when they first flowered, were value¬ 
less ever after. • 
W. C. Wilson, Esq., of Astoria, N. Y., contributed a 
fine collection of seedling Gladioli to Messrs. Young 
& Elliott’s collection, which fully sustained the report 
we have already made of American seedlings. Mr. 
Wilson grows many thousands annually for his cut- 
flower trade, and says he shall abandon the use of 
named sorts, as the seedlings give him much better 
flowers. 
SOWING HARDY FLOWERS IN AUTUMN. 
I consider the present a good time for sowing many 
flower seeds, which will be ready for starting into 
growth long before the ground can be worked in the 
spring. Planted in the same beds with Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Crocuses and similar early-flowing bulbs, such 
varieties of flowers as Phlox Drummondii, Sweet Alys- 
sum, Candytuft, Mignonette, Diantlius and Nemophila 
are about ready to commence flowering when the bulbs 
are past blooming, and long before they could be if not 
planted until spring. 
When it has been necessary to cover the beds in which 
the bulbs are planted, with manure or any other 
material, for protection, it is requisite to remove it just as 
soon in the spring as the weather gets warm and the 
ground dry; for as soon as any of the hardier kinds of 
plants begin to grow, any of the above mentioned 
flowering plants will start, beside some other kinds 
which I shall mention hereafter. 
For bulbs and all kinds of annual flowers wanted to 
bloom early in spring, it is necessary to have the soil in 
which they are planted finely worked, well drained, and 
somewhat sheltered if possible. Soil which has imper¬ 
fect drainage is not suitable for any kind of early crops, 
more especially any kinds in which the seeds or bulbs 
remain over winter. Having the beds well manured 
with the most rotten kind of compost (bulbs of any kind 
do not like to come directly in contact with fresh man¬ 
ure), plant the bulbs—Hyacinths six inches apart and 
about three deep, Tulips about the same, and Crocuses 
about half the distance. Do not mix the kinds when 
planting. If you want them all in the same bed, plant 
each row of a separate kind. 
The bed should be round, which is the most desirable 
shape, with the exception of an oval one for a small 
place. Heart-shaped, triangular, scalloped, or any 
fancy-shaped beds, look best before they are planted ; 
for unless suitable plants are put into them, which can 
be kept in a distinct shape to suit the form of the bed, it 
is merely a clump of flowers with no definite shape. If 
a round or oval bed is planted with anything like care, 
it maintains its shape all the time, and always looks well. 
Plant the Tulips in the centre, if of large growing 
kinds, the Hyacinths next, and the Crocuses next the 
outer edge. Sow the seeds of the different flowers in 
rows between the bulbs, but if Phlox, Petunias or simi¬ 
lar rampant growers are used, give them more room, and 
plant in every second row. A very pretty bed can be 
had, if it is say six feet in diameter or over, by sowing 
around the edge Sweet Alyssum; next, crimson Candy¬ 
tuft; third, white Candytuft, the large flowering kind ; 
fourth, scarlet Phlox Drummondii, the brightest scar¬ 
let, and in the centre sow white Phlox, and you have a 
bed of annuals which, well thinned out and not allowed 
to overcrowd, will bloom the whole summer, and the 
sum of twenty-five cents will purchase all the seeds re¬ 
quired. 
Another operation must be attended to during the 
summer to maintain the flowering. This is not to allow 
any seeds to mature on the plants. People often wonder 
why their Phlox and Candytuft quit flowering so early 
