THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
269 
quire what they do not make. They make fruit, flow¬ 
ers, coru,wi d e, oil. gum, resin, pitch, timber, cotton, flax, 
fibre, tea, cotfee, sugar, rice, spices, acids, perfumes and 
medicines. They have mainly formed the tilth of our 
fields—they constitute our coal measures, and all these 
things are made out of the most unlike elementary 
materials. 
Consider the Lilies, the Roses, the Violets in their 
sweetness; the Orchids in their gorgeous coloring and 
marvellous beauty of their structure, perfect mimics of 
some of the most exquisitely and elaborately formed 
insects. Look at the Oak-tree in its strength, and the 
tiniest Moss in its shrinking weakness; then remember 
that a few atoms of solid matter—afewdropsof water— 
some fleeting sunbeams with invisible food searched 
out of the air, have formed I hem all. These are brought 
into those marvellous manufactories, plants, and forth¬ 
with is delivered all this beauty, sweetness, and glory. 
The transforming powers of plants are beyond compre¬ 
hension. For what skill of man could compound such 
a varied bouquet of sweet odors from such crude ele¬ 
mentary matters as these? The doings of plants far ex¬ 
ceed the highest skill of man, as the sun extinguishes 
a farthing candle. Do you ask if over-production is 
ever known in these plant factories? Well, sometimes, 
though it is not the evil that it is among you. For the 
very act of production is almost as serviceable to us as 
the products manufactured. Incidentally, as it were, 
the mere working of plants fills our rivers and purifies 
our air. Then there is no waste in Nature. “ Gather 
up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost,” 
is her constant practice. What is not needed to-day 
will be wanted to-morrow. There is a case in point. 
Ages ago the world seemed in danger of being engulfed 
beneath the debris of plants. The strongest forms of 
plant life, stimulated by a hot, steaming atmosphere, 
rushed up as if by magic. They decayed almost as 
rapidly. Decomposition added fuel to the energy of 
growth. The living fed upon the dead. A great contest 
raged throughout many ages between life and death. 
Production and destruction, growth and decay, ran a 
neck-and-neck for the mastery of the world, and pro¬ 
duction won the race. The earth groaned beneath its 
huge load of carboniferous debris. At last, its back 
bent and broke with the sheer weight, possibly; then 
there came a subsidence—an overflow—a hot press fresh 
strata rolled over—and the coal measures were formed. 
And now, at the present moment we are warmed by the 
heat, lighted by the light, and derive most of our work¬ 
ing force from the energy of primeval suns. Had we 
seen all this, we should have cried out, “ What a shame¬ 
ful loss ! But a greater than man said, “ Gather up the 
fragments ” for ths homes, the factories, therailways, the 
steamships of my great family in the nineteenth century, 
aai all the succeeding age3. An:l thus it came to pass 
that we filled our coal-cellars with the carbon of the 
old world. 
[to be continued.J 
THE BROWALLIA. 
Tnc different varieties of Browallias form, when taken 
together, a group of very handsome, profuse-flowering 
half-hardy annuals—South American plants that for 
some reason or other have been sadly neglected of late. 
I will not undertake to say why this group of small, 
modest, yet beautiful flowers are not as highly appreci¬ 
ated as their merits entitle them to be, but I presume 
that but few have seen them when properly grown and 
in all their beauty, and other's, again, are somewhat 
prejudiced against annuals in general, because the few 
varieties that they have attempted to cultivate have 
given them very unsatisfactory results, forgetting that 
in nine cases out of ten they themselves are alone to 
blame, the failures resulting from their own ignorance 
or carelessness in the selection of the proper varieties, 
their proper cultivation, as well as in giving them a 
proper soil and situation in which to fully develop them¬ 
selves. 
With these few remarks I desire to call attention to 
the Browallias, a very handsome genus, the various 
species and varieties of which are entitled to a promi¬ 
nent position amongst our annuals, on account of the 
striking beauty of their prettily-colored white or blue 
flowers, the immense profusion with which they are 
produced, as well as the ease with which they can be 
cultivated. 
The Browallias are plants of erect, bushy, compact- 
yet dwarf habit, attaining a height of from one and a 
half to three feet, with bright-green leaves and pretty 
blue or white flowers, and when grown as bedding 
plants flower in the greatest profusion from July until 
frost. When grown as bedding plants they do best 
when the seeds are sown about the first of April, in a 
shallow box of light sandy soil; sow thinly, cover very 
lightly, and place in a gentle hot-bed or else in a 
warm, light situation. As soon as the young plants are 
strong enough to handle, transplant them an inch apart 
each way into other boxes, similarly prepared, then 
keep close and moist until well established, gradually 
expose to the open air and plant out when all danger of 
frost is over, which, in this vicinity, is about the middle 
of Miy. In order to obtain satisfactory results, the 
ground should be mide both rich and deep, by digging 
to the depth of two feet at least, and working in a good 
portion of well-decayed manure. 
The seed can also be sown in a cold frame about 
the middle of April, and the young plants treated as 
above advised, or on a nicely prepared border about 
the tenth of May ; but the plants will not flower so 
early. 
The Browallia is also grown as a pot-plant for the 
decoration of the greenhouse or window-garden, where 
it will do well and produce satisfactory results if given 
sufficient heat moisture, and full exposure to the sun. 
For this purpose the seed should be sown about the first 
of August, and as soon as the young plants are strong 
enough to handle, pot them off into two-inch pots and 
plunge in a partially shaded situation ; keep them well 
supplied with water, and about the middle of September 
take up, re-pot into four or five-inch pots according to 
the size of the plants, and remove to the house before 
cold weather sets in. 
