248 
THE FLORIST’S JOURNAL. 
of them fine; among the best we may mention youngii, menziesii, 
speciosa bicolor, Candida, with the three we have selected for 
our illustrations. 
We strongly anticipate a great accession of hybrids next 
season, some of which will undoubtedly possess new and 
desirable colours, as the crossing of most of the older kinds 
with rubra has been very extensively performed, both the pre¬ 
sent season and last year also; and as many of our readers may 
have hybrid seed to raise, it will be expected of us to say some¬ 
thing on the subject. This genus presents an open field for im¬ 
provement, and we believe, from the ease with which the oper¬ 
ation of cross-impregnating may be done, that there are few who 
will not have their own hybrids next year. In gathering the 
seed care must be taken that it is perfectly ripe; the seed-vessel 
frequently splitting while yet green may deceive many; it may 
be shaken when this happens, and the largest seed obtained, 
but there will be fully as much more remaining in the pod—this 
should be left till the latter turns brown. The seed should be 
sown as soon as ripe in shallow pans, the lower half of which 
may be filled with peat or heath mould, and the other half with 
the same earth mixed with an equal quantity of white sand : 
strew the seed evenly; it requires no covering unless a slight 
dusting of the sand be thought necessary to prevent its being 
moved by any means. It requires a similar heat to that recom¬ 
mended for starting the mature roots; some of the seed will 
vegetate immediately, and the rest will appear in the spring; 
the following summer they may be taken to the greenhouse, 
though instead of drying them off in the autumn it will be 
better to remove them back to a warm situation, and their 
growth encouraged, as it often happens that small roots do not 
retain sufficient vitality to enable them to shoot with vigour in 
the spring, and after a futile attempt they perish. After the 
second summer they will have attained a good size, and may 
then be associated with and treated the same as recommended 
for old roots. 
Editor. 
