THE CANNA TRIBE AS BEDDING PLANTS. 
35 
the principal ingredients ; and, indeed, if the plant is wished to be cultivated on a rockwork it cannot 
he better placed than in the hollow of an old trunk filled with soil, for under such circumstances it finds 
congenial conditions for 
growth, and soon covers the mass with better effect than perhaps any other 
plant that can be chosen. In this way it is peculiarly desirable for a small ornamental rockwork 
where neatness is requisite. 
We have said that the Linncea delights in shade ; but it is only under certain circumstances that 
this delight ought to be indulged in by the cultivators. The more shade that is given the fewer 
flowers are produced, and vice versa. Where it is wished to have a good pot specimen or a small log 
one, it is therefore necessary, so soon as the plant is established to allow it pretty free exposure to the 
sun, of course sheltering it from the hot noonday sunshine of the summer months, as is essential for 
success with all “ Alpines.” When thus treated the plant assumes a much more compact habit, and 
flowers much more freely than when allowed to diffuse its long straggling flowerless shoots, under the 
influence of shade and moisture ; indeed, a well established plant will be annually covered with 
blossoms. The cultivator will of course understand that moisture at the root is an essential requisite, 
although all flooding ought to be jealously guarded against. 
Those plants that record in their names the memories of departed botanists are cherished with 
especial care by all who entertain feelings of gratitude towards those who have gone before them in 
the pleasant paths of our fair science. Every grower of Pines looks upon Douglasii as one of his 
most endeared treasures ; who can grow Heaths without having 3VNabiana in some of its varieties ? 
or what collection of Mosses is complete without the genus Hooheria, whose prototype may be justly 
regarded as their presiding genius in Britain ? On the same principle we claim for Linncea a place in 
every European collection of Alpines, as recording the memory of one dear to ever true botanist. The 
poet has well said— 
“ These botanists trust 
The lingering gleam of their departed lives 
Ho floral record, and the silent heart,— 
D epositories faithful and more kind 
Than fondest epitaph; for, if those fail, 
What hoots the sculptured tomb ? And who can bla me— 
Who rather would not envy —men that feel 
This mutual confidence; if, from such source 
The practice flow; if thence, or from a deep 
And general humility in death ? 
Nor should I much condemn it, if it spring 
From disregard of Time’s destructive'power, 
And only capable to prey on things 
Of earth, and human nature’s mortal part.” 
While we warmly invite the extended cultivation of the Linncea , we would caution every reader to 
abstain from being instrumental in aiding the extermination of this rare plant from even one of the 
stations where it is found in wild luxuriance. Long may the Linncea flourish in the woods of 
northern Europe, a lasting monument to the unparalled zeal, perseverance, and love of nature, that 
characterized the “ Father of Naturalists! ”—G. 
THE CANNA TEIBE AS BEDDING PLANTS. 
r E culture of this tribe of plants for bedding purposes is at once so simple, and attended with 
so little trouble, as to deserve the attention of every one who has space to spare for them. Their 
appearance, in suitable situations, is magnificent in the extreme, and planted in beds on a lawn, they 
impart an exotic character which no other plant that I know of can be employed to produce. Last 
season I succeeded in producing a very fine effect by planting six plants of Canna gigantea , at two 
yards apart, through a large bed of scarlet Geraniums, which, from being situated on level ground, and 
in a conspicuous situation from several points, required something to break the monotony of the bed in 
that particular place. This arrangement was much admired, and not without reason—for the splendid 
foliage and bright flowers, waving gracefully about with every gust of wind, imparted an effect at once 
lively and unique. 
Our plan is to take up the plants when the frost has cut them down in the autumn, and to pot them 
in eight-inch pots, and place them under the stage of a greenhouse, or the back part of a conservatory, 
keeping them nearly dry until the first week in February, when they are placed in an early vinery, 
