TIIE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
the manner of an Oleander, and if properly managed 
will make in a few years line flowering specimens. 
They bear the knife well, and can be easily kept or trim¬ 
med into shape. When thus grown they require to be re¬ 
potted every Spring, and at the same time trimmed into 
shape. Towards Autumn give less water so as to ripen 
the wood, and during the Winter place them in a cool, 
frost-proof collar, and let them remain there until 
March without any water, unless the soil becomes dust 
dry, but this will seldom occur. About the middle of 
March or first of April the plants should be started into 
growth, and about the tenth of May, or when all danger 
of frost is over, they can be removed to their Summer 
quarters, care being taken to keep them well supplied 
with water during the Summer. 
Propagation is effected by cuttings of the young 
wood, also by seeds, and if the young plants are liberally 
treated and repotted as often as is necessary, they will 
soon make fine flowering specimens. The seed can be 
sown early in the Spring in a well-drained pot or pan of 
light sandy soil; sow thinly and cover slightly, and 
place in a warm temperature, and as near the glass as 
possible. Keep the soil moist by watering, which 
should be carefully done, and as soon as the plants 
are strong enough to handle, pot olf into three or four 
inch nols ; keep the young plants close and moist until 
well established, then gradually expose to the air and 
plant out when all danger of frost is over. 
Tlie following descriptive list embraces the most dis¬ 
tinct and desirable varieties: 
Alba Grandijlora .—A strong-growing and free-flower¬ 
ing variety with large white flowers, and an excellent 
bedding sort. 
Aurantiaca .—An old favorite well-known variety 
43 
with rich chrome-colored flowers, a strong-growing 
variety, fine for bedding. 
Diadem .—A very distinct and beautiful variety, the 
deep rose-colored flowers having a clear, distinct, yellow 
centre. 
Delicatissima .—A very beautiful variety of trailing 
habit, with lilac-colored flowers, while from its manner 
of growth and flowering it bears a considerable resem¬ 
blance to a Verbena; an excellent bedder if strong and 
healthy plants are placed out in May. 
Distinction .—A variety that well merits its name; 
the flowers are of a rich orange yellow, which gradually 
fades to rose. 
Golconda .—A beautiful variety with buff colored 
flowers, which gradually change to a deep golden 
yellow. 
Harkett's Perfection .—A strong-growing variety, with 
beautifully variegated leaves, and large trusses of rich 
rose-colored flowers. 
Innocence .—A dwarf-growing variety, with pure white 
flowers. 
Madam Hoste .— An excellent bedding variety produc¬ 
ing large trusses of lemon-colored flowers, which 
gradually pass into purplish lilac. 
Marshal McMahon .—One of the finest Lantanas ever 
raised, the flower trusses being as large as those of a 
Verbena, a variety of dwarf growth, with brilliant 
orange-red colored flowers. 
Meteor .—Another distinct variety with pale yellow 
flowers, which pass into a rosy violet. 
Raphael .—A fine bedding variety of vigorous growth, 
and large trusses of orange-rose flowers, which gradu¬ 
ally change to purple. Chas. E. Parnell,, 
Queexs, L. I. 
“SPORTS” IN PLANTS. 
What is a natural sport? To most horticulturists and 
cultivators of experience this may appear a simple ques¬ 
tion, but by numbers of persons vt is uot so well under¬ 
stood. A natural sport is a variation or peculiar change 
of any part of a plant from its normal state. Take for 
instance the Camellia or Japonica. as it is often called. 
Here we have the old Double White (alba plena), a 
Chinese variety, imported into England so long ago as 
1739, and since then extensively propagated and dissemi¬ 
nated all over Europe and America. Yet it is still the 
very same flower it was in 1739, so far as we know our¬ 
selves, or can learn from descriptions, paintings, or 
books. It has never been anything else. If, however, 
you or I had a plant which should, upon one particular 
branch, show a flower of a different form or color, that 
particular flower would be denominated a ‘sport.’ So, 
too, if the leaves were to assume a different shape, or the 
branches some peculiar form, that would be also a sport, 
because, in either instance, it has departed from its 
original type. Such a flower or branch is, therefore, a 
‘ natural sport,’ and so considered in these remarks. It 
is somewhat extraordinary, when we notice the char¬ 
acter and importance of these sports, that so little has 
been written upon the subject. In the very hasty 
manner in which I liave been enabled to look through 
the works of various authors I find that it is scarcely 
mentioned at all. Mr. Knight, in his numerous physio¬ 
logical and horticultural papers published from time to 
time in the 1 Transactions of the Royal Horticultural 
Society,’ does not speak of sports. Loudon, in his vari¬ 
ous exhaustive volumes on trees, plants, and shrubs, has 
little or nothing to say of them. Lindley, in his ‘ Theory 
of Horticulture,’ does not notice them, and MTntosh, 
Thompson, and other authors, do not give any informa¬ 
tion upon the subject. Indeed, it is only in the peri¬ 
odical works upou horticulture, and scattered through 
many volumes, that much'can be learned, and this is in 
the main recorded of only a few particular sports. 
When we reflect for a moment upon their importance, 
and consider how much our pleasure grounds and 
gardens, our greenhouses and conservatories, have 
gained in valuable additions through these sports, we 
are surprised that so little has been treasured up regard¬ 
ing them. The fact that we know so little of the cause 
of these sports is probably the reason why the record of 
their production is all that can be found. It is only 
within a few years that they have assumed any promi¬ 
nence, though, undoubtedly, they have existed for a 
long period. The very curious variegated trees from 
Japan, though probably some are from seed, are, many 
