LAYING OUT OF FLOWER-GARDENS. The jasmine, also, with its dark-green leaves and little silver stars, saluting us with its delicious scent through the open casement, and impregnating the whole atmosphere of the garden with its sweetness, has been sung and celebrated by so many poets, that our associations are with their numbers rather than with any intrinsic quality in the flower itself. Indeed, what-persons of moderate means, and limited in the extent ever may have first established the rank of flowers in the poetical world, they have become to us like notes of music, passed on from lyre to lyre; and whenever a chord is thrilled with the harmony of song, these lovely images present themselves, neither impaired in their beauty nor exhausted of their sweetness, for having been the medium of poetic feeling ever since the world began. Flowers are cultivated in the borders and parterres of gardens of a mixed kind along with kitchen vege tables and fruits; and this may be said to be the general plan in those grounds of limited space belonging to of their possessions. Many, however, cultivate flowers in gardens exclusively appropriated to them, and also in the isolated clumps which decorate ornamental lawns. In whichever way, the method of culture clearly the same; and therefore it is unnecessary for us to enter into particulars with reference to all the sizes and kinds of gardens in which flowers may be grown. The directions given in the previous sheet on the laying out, shelter, and exposure of kitchen garde apply also to flower-gardens. The soil should be rich, dry, soft, and partially improved with decomposed pet and leaf mould; the exposure should be towards tha sun; a free air should be allowed to play over t ground; and means should be at hand for procuring a plentiful supply of pure soft water for irrigation. Every flower-garden, also, should possess a small store of fine It is impossible to expend a moment's thought upon the lily, without recurring to that memorable passage in the sacred volume-'Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. From the little common flower called heart's-ease, we turn to that well-known passage of Shakspeare, where the fairy king so beautifully describes the little western flower And the forget-me-not has a thousand associations ten-washed sand as a restorative, and for scattering beneathi der and touching, but, unfortunately, like many other sweet things, rude hands have almost robbed it of its charm. Who can behold the pale narcissus, standing by the silent brook, its stately form reflected in the glassy mirror, without losing himself in that most fanciful of all poetical conceptions, in which the graceful youth is described as gazing upon his own beauty, until he becomes lost in admiration, and finally enamoured of himself; while hopeless Echo sighs herself away into a sound, for the love which, having centered in such an object, was neither to be bought by her caresses nor won by her despair? Through gardens, fields, forests, and even over rugged mountains, we might wander on in this fanciful quest after remote ideas of pleasurable sensation connected with present beauty and enjoyment; nor would our search be fruitless, so long as the bosom of the earth afforded a receptacle for the germinating seed-so long as the gentle gales of summer continued to waft them from the parent stem, or so long as the welcome sun looked forth upon the ever-blooming garden of na ture. One instance more, and we have done. The lady rose,' as poets have designated this queen of beauty, claims the latest though not the least consideration in speaking of the poetry of flowers. In the poetic world, the first honours have been awarded to the rose, for what reason it is not easy to define, unless from its exquisite combination of perfume, form, and colour, which has entitled this sovereign of flowers in one country to be mated with the nightingale; in another, to be chosen, with the distinction of red and white, as the badge of two honourable and royal houses. It would be difficult to trace the supremacy of the rose to its origin; but mankind have so generally agreed in paying homage to her charms, that our associations in the present day are chiefly with the poetic strains in which they are celebrated. After all the pains that have been taken to procure, transplant, and propagate the rose, there is one kind perpetually blooming around us through the summer months, without the aid or interference of man, which seems to defy his art to introduce a rival to its own unparalleled beauty-the common wild rose. Blooming in the sterile waste, this lovely flower is seen unfolding its fair leaves where there is no beauty to reflect its own, and thus calling back the heart of the weary traveller to thoughts of peace and joy-reminding him that the wilderness of human life, though rugged and barren to the discontented beholder, has also its sweet flowers, not the less welcome for being unlooked for, nor the less lovely for being cherished by a hand unseen." To these elegantly expressed sentiments, nothing ced be added by the writer of these pages. the finer kinds of flowers when in bloom, as a protes tion from creeping vermin. Besides the utensils usualy employed, the flower-gardener should have a pair of small scissors to clip off decayed leaves, and some stripe of mat for tying up certain drooping plants. The greatest difference of taste prevails on the subject of disposing the various parts of a flower-plot garden. Straight-lined borders, ovals, circles, and fancy figures, have each their admirers; and we should advise every one to adopt that form which will be mo effective in striking the eye. If the garden is seen from a parlour window, as is often the case, the plan m agreeable is to lay out the foreground as a patch of wellshaven green, which is fresh both winter and summer; on its further side there may be a semicircular border; then a walk; and next parterres of such form and size will suit the extent of the ground. If the garden contar kitchen vegetables, they should be out of sight of the windows of the dwelling-house, or at least not brought ostentatiously forward. "It is more difficult," says the author of the Florist's Manual, “than may at first appear, to plan, even upon a small scale, such a pres of ground; nor, perhaps, would any but an experiene scientific eye be aware of the difficulties to be enca tered in the disposal of a few shaped borders inter spersed with turf. The nicety consists in arranging the different parts so as to form a connected glow of colour to effect which, it will be necessary to place the borr in such a manner that, when viewed from the window of the house, or from the principal entrance into the garden, one border shall not intercept the beauties of another-nor, in avoiding that error, produce one '.1 greater, that of vacancies betwixt the borders, form small avenues, by which the whole is separated in broken parts, and the general effect lost. Anoth point to be attended to is the just proportion of gr turf, which, without nice observation, will be too m or too little for the colour with which it is blend and, lastly, the breadth of the flower-borders shoz i not be greater than what will place the roots within : * reach of the gardener's arm without the necessity treading upon the soil, the mark of footsteps being deformity wherever it appears among flowers." 1 Whether all the flowers of a class-such, for instar as violets, hyacinths, &c.-should be cultivated together or interspersed and mingled with others, is another tal ter for taste to decide. The preferable plan seems be to form a choice variety in borders and other sp but also to cultivate a quantity of certain sorts in con partments by themselves. Neill judiciously observ on the choice of flowers for borders-" The plants a arranged in mingled flower-borders, partly accord to their size and partly according to their colour. T tallest are planted in the back part, those of middl size occupy the centre, and those of humble growth are | tends to give excessive vigour to the stems will prevent placed in front. The beauty of a flower-border, when in bloom, depends very much on the tasteful disposition of the plants in regard to colour. By intermingling plants which grow in succession, the beauty of the border may be prolonged for some weeks. In a botanic garden, the same plant cannot be repeated in the same border; but in the common flower-garden, a plant, if deemed ornamental, may be often repeated with the best effect; nothing can be finer, for example, than to see many plants of double scarlet lychnis, double sweet-william, or double purple jacobæa." The Dutch, who are among the best flower-gardeners in the world, have lately begun to copy the English in ornamenting turf lawns with plots of various kinds of flowers; but in all their large and regular gardens, they still dispose each kind of flowers by themselves. "We ridicule this plan," says Hogg in his Treatise on Flowers, "because it exhibits too great a sameness and formality; like a nosegay that is composed of one sort of flowers only, however sweet and beautiful they may be, they lose the power to please, because they want variety. It must undoubtedly be acknowledged, that a parterre, no matter in what form-whether circular or square, elliptical or oblong-where all the shrubs, plants, and flowers in it, like the flowers in a tastefully arranged bouquet, are variously disposed in neat and regulated order, is a delightful spectacle, and worthy of general imitation. Yet still, in some particular cases, I am disposed to copy the Dutchman; and I would have my bed of hyacinths distinct, my anemones, my ranunculuses, my pinks, my carnations distinct, and even my beds of hollyhocks, double blue violets, and dwarf larkpurs distinct, to say nothing of different sorts of roses. Independently of the less trouble you have in cultivating them when kept separate, you have beauty in masses, and you have likewise their fragrance and perfume so Concentrated, that they are not lost in air, but powerfully inhaled when you approach them." Leaving this question to be settled according to taste and other gircumstances, we have only to recommend that no flower or herb of any kind should be sown or planted In figures resembling familiar objects. Some persons, for example, will be seen sowing annuals or planting crocuses in the figure of a letter of the alphabet, a spoon, a ship, a house, &c.-a practice so essentially valgar that it cannot be too loudly condemned. the formation of flower-buds, and the same result will follow from stunting or starving the plant. To induce flowering, the plant must be fully exposed to sun and air; at a lower temperature than 50 degrees, the blooms cannot be expected to open; but from that to 65 degrees, the sap will ascend, and the buds, if duly provided with moisture and fresh air, will be rapidly developed. When freely exposed to seasonal influences, flowering plants appear withered and nearly gone in winter; they begin to shoot up in spring; come to perfection in their bloom in summer; and languish and yield their seeds in autumn. But if treated properly in the artificial climate of a greenhouse, they will be found disregarding seasonal influences, and perhaps blooming in winter or spring. It has been remarked, that when plants have been slightly checked by frost or dry cold air, they sooner come into bloom. "This," says Mr Rennie, in his Alphabet of Gardening, "arises evidently from the pulp being concentrated instead of being expended in the production of new leaves and branches, while perhaps part of the effect may be owing to increased excitability. On this principle the early potato, which does not flower freely, may be made to do so by removing the tubers; and, on the other hand, the tubers are increased in the late sorts by picking off the flower. The greater the quantity, then, of good healthy pulp which can be prepared by the leaves, the more really vigorous and healthy will the plant become; and as flowering and fruiting exhaust a great quantity of this pulp, and of course tend to weaken the general system of the plant, it follows that the artificial prevention of flowering must preserve in the plant the digested pulp which would have gone to nourish the flower and the fruit. Thus, by pruning off the luxuriant shoots of melons, &c., the pulp induces the shoots to spring into flowers and fruit. Upon this principle is founded the practice of treating bulbs so as to cause them to bloom vigorously, by cutting off the flowering stem as soon as it appears, in some cases, and in others so as to have the blossoms evolved when placed in water, taking care to encourage the growth of the leaves by rich soil and free exposure to air and sunshine. In this way the greatest quantity of strong pulp is stored up in the bulbs, and luxuriant blossoms are produced the succeeding season. The practice, consequently, of some An error not uncommon in deciding which flowers unskilful gardeners, of trimming off the leaves of snowshall be planted, is to select numbers merely for their drops, crocuses, and tulips, after the blooming is over, rarity or novelty, without reference to what will be for the purpose of rendering a border or a bed neat, is their appearance when in bloom, and which generally very bad; and it is not much better to tie up the leaves, leads to disappointment. Unless for botanical illustra- as is also preposterously done, for in this way they cantion, make a choice of flowers on two principles-those not be duly exposed to the air and the light. The which will be beautiful when in bloom, although com- same principle will apply to all other flowering plants. mon, and those which will bloom at the particular When a flowering branch or stem has been produced, Beasons required, to ensure a succession of variegated and has begun to show the flower buds, it must be conbeauty from spring to autumn. The true amateur gar-sidered that it can only blow finely in proportion to dener takes a pride in improving even the commonest the quantity of healthy pulp, either previously in the Bowers urging them by careful culture to the highest branch, or from time to time prepared by the leaves of state of perfection as to size and brilliancy of colouring that branch. Consequently, if there are two or more of which they are susceptible in our climate. flowers on the branch, each will require its due proportion of food; but if one or more of these be artificially removed, all the spare pulp will go to feed the one, two, or more blossoms which may remain. On this is founded the practice of thinning out the flower-buds from the bunches of auriculas, polyanthuses, chrysanthemums, and other plants, in order to increase the size and beauty of those which are left to expand. It is in consequence of the same principles that free exposure to air is indispensable for producing fine flowers, inasmuch as they depend for nourishment on the pulp, which without these cannot be formed. The vivid colours and pleasant odour of flowers depend on the same causes for in the shade these are both feeble." GENERAL CHARACTER AND TREATMENT OF FLOWERS. All flowering plants belong to the division Phanogmic in the vegetable kingdom; but it is only those in which the flower is conspicuous, beautiful, or odorous, that are the objects of garden culture. The part of the plant which constitutes the flower, bloom, or blos, is the corolla; it consists of several divisions or leafy parts, called petals. The corolla encloses the Stamens and pistils, or organs of reproduction (see VEGETABLE PHYSIOLOGY); and to bring these to perfection, so as to effect the development of the seeds, is the prime object of vegetable growth. When the seeds are perfected, or in the way of being so, the corolla languishes and dies. The design of the flower-gardener is less to produce size and strength in his plants, than to cause them effectually to bloom; he wishes a fine corolla. It is proper, then, to mention, that whatever Flowering plants are usually divided into the following kinds :-Annuals; plants which require to be sown annually, as they live and bloom only one season. Biennials, which do not blossom till the second season after sowing, remain a certain time in perfection, and then at hand." ། Improvement in the brilliancy or change of colour, is not effected without a certain loss in the odoroush properties of the plant. It is remarked, that cultiva tion generally renders the odour less intense, and sommeli times altogether destroys it. Thus the pleasant odour of the wild violet is not to be found in the heart's-eas Propagation. die; they are produced by seed, but some of the finest | an intense yellow, sports into scarlet, red, purple, and "15 double varieties are continued by cuttings. Perennials almost any colour but blue. White flowers, which are plants which continue to grow and blossom annu- have a tendency to produce red, will never sport to ally. Indigenous plants; those which are natives of blue, although they will to yellow; the rose, for exthis country, and may have been perfected by culture ample, and the chrysanthemums. It is also probabis! from a wild state. Exotics; plants of foreign origin, that white flowers, with a tendency to produce blus, which have been introduced into this country. The will not vary to yellow; but of this I have no instanes greater number of our fine flowers and fruits are exotics. Many of these have been acclimated, or accustomed to our climate, and rendered hardy by a course of culture; but others require to exist in greenhouses and hot-houses, or under glass frames, for at least a part of the year. It would appear that each region of the globe possesses plants as distinctive in their features as the different races of men. On this subject Mr Loudon remarks-"The native countries of plants may often be discovered by their features, in the same manner as the national distinctions which are observable in the looks and colour of mankind, and which are effected chiefly by climate. Asiatic plants are remarkable for their superior beauty; African plants for their thick and succulent leaves, as in the case of the Cacti; and the American plants for the length and smoothness of their leaves, and for a singularity in the shape of the flower and fruit. The flowers of European plants are but rarely beautiful. Plants indigenous to polar and mountainous regions are generally low, with small compressed leaves, but with flowers large in proportion. Plants indigenous to New Holland (or Australia) are distinguishable for small and dry leaves, that have often a shrivelled appearance. In Arabia they are low and dwarfish; in the Archipelago they are generally shrubby, and furnished with prickles; while in the Canary Islands, many plants, which in other countries are merely herbs, assume the port of shrubs and trees." 1 Flowering plants are propagated in various ways by sowing seeds at the proper seasons, by dividing the pat root, by suckers, layers, pipings, cuttings, and bud grafting. Dividing the Root.-This is one of the most simple methods of propagation. The root of the growing plant is partially uncovered, and one or more portices are removed; the root is then covered up, and the re moved parts transplanted in soft earth prepared receive them. Nine-tenths of herbaceous perennal are treated in this way. Suckers.-These are young plants thrown up from the roots of the main plant, round which they cluster They may be removed by taking up along with the a part of the root. They should be removed in spring after the plant has begun growing, and immediatey planted out. If any flower-buds be developed on them, take them off, so as to give strength to the plant. Layers. Some plants, as, for instance, strawberries, send out layers or runners along the ground; thest The different kinds of flowering plants are either have joints, if we may call them such, at certain pointa herbaceous (green herbs) or shrubby, the stems of the and where any joint strikes the earth, it takes root latter consisting of smail woody fibres. A deciduous and becomes the centre of a new plant. Thus a run tree or shrub is one which casts its leaves every win- ning plant will speedily cover, as with a network, ter and is recovered in spring. An evergreen is a large space of ground. Nothing is more easy than to shrub which retains its leaves during winter, but casts propagate by causing the layers of some plants to take them in spring as the new buds come out. A fibrous root. In the case of the carnation and similar plants, rooted plant is one whose root sends out small fibres; fix a stem at one of its joints to the ground, with polyanthuses are examples of this class. A tuberous-hooked stick or peg, covering it slightly with mould, and rooted plant is one whose root forms small tubers or lumps; dahlias, ranunculuses, and anemones are examples among flowers, and the potato among kitchen vegetables. The prevailing colours of flowers are yellow, orange, white, pink, scarlet, red, blue, purple, and many are variegated or composed of different tints. Proper culture, with pure air and sunshine, increase the brilliancy of the tints, and give massiveness to the corollas. Plants of a kindred species may, likewise, be improved by hybridising or crossing, the general principle of which is the artificial application of the pollen of one plant to another. By this means, some of the most beautiful flowers have been originated. Change of soil and climate, however, are the great means of improvement. As long as it is confined to its native habitation, the corolla of the plant and all its other appurtenances are meagre and generally unattractive; but when nourished in a cultivated soil, and all its wants supplied, the whole plant strengthens and expands, and the corolla flashes on the eye in all its brilliancy of colour. The changes effected on the daisy, the rose, and the violet, will here occur to remembrance as striking instances of metamorphoses by culture and change of habitation. Speaking of the Jaws by which a change of colour is produced, Dr Lindley, in his Introduction to Botany, observes-" A blue flower will change to white or red, but not to bright yellow; a bright yellow flower will become white or red, but never blue. Thus the hyacinth, of which the primitive colour is blue, produces abundance of white and red varieties, but nothing that can be compared to bright yellow; the yellow hyacinths, as they are called, being a sort of pale yellow-ochre colour, verging to green. Again, the ranunculus, which is originally of giving it a little moisture. Roots will, in general, strike out in a few weeks; and at the end of the season the plant is ready for being cut from its parent, and trace planted. Where layering is tedious or difficult, prope gation by division of the root or cuttings is preferabias Pipings.-Propagation by piping is an expedition mode of raising young plants. The following is the method prescribed in a small and useful work, entitied Every Lady her own Flower-Gardener :—“ Take the upper and young part of each shoot, close below joint, with a sharp knife, and cut each off at the tied joint, or little knob; and then cut the top leaves dow pretty short, and take off the lower and discoloured ones. When you have piped in this way as many you require, let them stand a week in a tumbier water, which greatly facilitates their doing well. It deed, I never failed in any pipings, slips, or cuttings, which I allowed to soak and swell in water previous a planting. When you plant the pipings, let the ground be newly dug, and raked very fine; dibble no hole, bu gently thrust each piping half way down into the a earth round each, to fix it in the bed. Water them often, if the weather is dry, but moderately, just to ke-1 them moist; and shade them from the hot sun in t day. If pipings are covered with a hand-glass, they root earlier by three weeks than those which are es posed. Laying, piping, and slipping, are done in Jurs and July. The plants will be well rooted and fit to plant out in October." Slips are shoots wrenched --T at a joint, instead of being cut, and are treated in t same manner as pipings. Cuttings. A cutting is a strong shoot of last year's growth, cut from the parent stem or branch, and set in the ground. The cutting should be about six jach: ng, and cut off slantingly and smoothly. The soil in which the cutting is inserted requires to be dry or not to moist. Roses and honeysuckles are among the class of plants propagated by cuttings. The operation should be performed in January or February, so that the enttings may root and vegetate in the opening of spring; Lut several months are required to bring the cutting to a state fit for transplanting. Some cuttings of flowerstalks may be set as late as May and June, Budding. This is a method of propagation chiefly used in connexion with fruit-trees; but as it is likewise applicable to rose-bushes, it may here be described. Budding is a species of grafting, and consists in inserting the fresh-cut extremity of a small twig or bud beneath the bark of another plant. A leaf bud, easily known by its tapering point, should be alone selected, and not a bud on which a flower is developed. The leaf on the nected bud is to be taken off, for if it remained it would exhaust the sap, and the bud would in all likelihood Gather and die. Along with the bud, a small slip of bark s to be taken; and if this bark separate freely, it is a | est of there being pulp enough to form a union. The ip of bark is to be inserted beneath the bark of the ther plant, in a slit made for the purpose, and the whole tied with a strip of mat to keep out the air. The annexed cut represents the various parts in be fine, and have a warm exposure; and, on being sown, cover the seeds with only about half an inch of mould; peas and lupines should be an inch below the surface. If the weather be dry, irrigate with pure soft water occasionally. Take care that the seed you sow is fresh and good: the way to test its quality is to throw it into a glass of water; if it be worthless, it will swim; if good, it will sink to the bottom. Among the vast number of annuals that offer themselves to the choice of the gardener, the following, each having varieties as to colour, may be mentioned as taking the lead in the half-hardy kinds :-African marigold, French marigold, China aster, marvel of Peru, chrysanthemum, sweet sultan, Indian pink, love apple, gourds, bottle gourd, convolvulus, yellow balsam or touch-me-not, amaranthus, ten-week gilliflower, white ten-week stock, cannacorus, and Chinese hollyhock. Hardy kinds :---Adonis-flower, candytuft, larkspur, lupines, sunflower, lavatera, poppy, major convolvulus, nasturtium, Tangier pea, sweet pea, winged pea, Lobel's catchfly, dwarf lychnis, Venus's looking-glass, Virginian stock, heart's-ease, snapdragon, mignonette, xeranthemum, purple jacobæa, Clarkias. If annuals are required on a more extended scale, the best plan is to leave the selection to a respectable nurseryman. Such a person will at least present a copious list to make your choice from, and mention the size or height to which the plants will respectively grow. Mr Loudon, in his Encyclopædia of Gardening, quotes a list by Mr Swindon, a Brentford nurseryman, consisting of nearly ninety hardy annuals, distinguished in ranges according to heights. From this we make the following extract-for the sake of clearness, leaving out the Latin names: "First Range---from 8 to 12 or 14 inches high. Cape marigold; purple and white. Large caterpillar; yellow, and singular pod. Venus's looking glass; light purple. Ram's horns; yellow; the pod is its beauty. Round snails; yellow, and singular pod. Dwarf variegated lychnis; crimson and white. Heart's ease; purple and yellow. Half-moons, or moon-trefoil; white, and singular pod. Blue meadow lychnis ; sky-blue. Dwarf virgin's stock; purple. Small hedgehogs; yellow, and singular pod. Woodroof; light blue. Red hawkweed; pale red. Large hedgehogs; yellow, and singular pod. Second Range-from 12 to 18 or 20 inches high. Oak of Jerusalem; yellowish, with fragrant smell. Small white candytuft; clear white. Long-horned devil in a bush; yellow, and singular pod. Convolvulus minor; bright blue, with yellow eye. Large purple candytuft; light purple. White Lobel's catch Flowering plants are now so numerous, both as ospects species and varieties, that a bare list of them Sould more than fill the present sheet; all, therefore, fly; reddish white. Annual snapdragon; purple and yellow. it can be reasonably expected from us is a few hints to those which are most approved, and cultivated efly in the open air. A person with little experience ould stock his garden only by degrees a small mber of different sorts every year, according to Bey, and what he finds to be the capabilities of the and exposure. In commencing to make a choice or a moderately sized garden, or for still smaller plots f ground and borders, we should also recommend the an of cultivating a mixed variety of different colours 3d different heights; those which are smallest being front or nearest the eye, and the other rows rising in aight and massiveness as they recede. With as few four colours, four sizes, and six different periods of ming into bloom, a mingled border may be established th ninety-six sorts, which will present a pleasing semblage to the eye. Scarlet or wing peas; dark and light red. Large white candy- Red Lobel's catchfly; bright red. Dwarf nasturtium; deep orange. Annuals. Some annuals are called hardy, and others half-hardy. he hardy kinds will grow and blossom in open borders, thout artificial heat or protection; those which are Core tender will also grow in the open air, but are imroved by being brought forward under hand-glasses. of the delicate class of annuals which must be conantly kept under glass frames, it is not our purpose to ak. The greater number of annuals may be sown at e end of March or beginning of April. The soil should Third Range-from 20 to 24 or 28 inches high. Spanish nigella, with black seed; light blue. Spanish hawkweed; pale yellow, and purple eye. Blue Moldavian balm; deep blue, and fine scent. Annual rest-harrow; pale red. Roman nigella; white mixed with blue. Small running nasturtium; dark orange. Nettle marjoram; yellowish, no smell but to the over-curious. Rocket larkspur; pink and white. Sweet Double scented lupines; bright yellow. White Moldavian balm; fair white, and fragrant smell. Dutch lupines; fine blue. Annual hare's car; pale yellow. Purple jacobea; purplish red and yel low eye. Dutch ranunculus marigold; sulphur-colour. Redtopped clary; pale red, and pink leaves. Fourth Range-from 2 to 24 or 3 feet high. Belvidere: yellowish-a handsome plant. Small variegated corn-poppy; various, red and white, &c. Double upright larkspur; blue, blush, &c. Cyanus minor; blue, crimson, &c. Thornapple; white, and singular pod. Prince's feather; dark crimson. Crown-larkspur; pale pink, spotted, &c. Honey scabious; pale blue, and globular pod. Portugal lychnis; pale red. Small blue lupines; bright blue. Love lies a-bleeding; light red. Ranunculus marigold; deep orange. Honeywort; dark purple, and singular shape. Strawberry spinach; bright red fruit. Fifth Range-from 3 to 4 feet high. Venetian small-flowered mallow; purplish-white. Double crimson jagged-leaf poppy; dark crimson. Tall narrow-leaf wallflower; bright yellow. Arach; deep crimson. Double striped carnation poppy; red and white. Blue sweet trefoil; lead-colour. Red lavatera; light changeable red. Branching larkspur; blue and white, &c. Tall white lupines; clear white. Double black carnation poppy; rose-colour. Small Peruvian nasturtium; dark orange. Lord Anson's peas; fine blue. White lavatera; snow white. Dwarf double and quilled yellow sunflower; deep yellow. Bladder ketmia; pale-sulphur and purple eye, with singular pod. Sixth Range-from 5 to 7 or 10 feet high. Tall double yellow sunflower, with black seed; deep yellow. Painted lady sweet-scented peas; pale red and white. Arach; sulphur-coloured. Purple sweet-scented peas; dark and light purple. Tall Indian persicaria; bright crimson. Painted lady crown peas; black and white. Convolvulus major; fine purple. White crown-peas; clear white. Large Indian nasturtium; dark and light orange. Tall double brimstone sunflower; sulphurcoloured. White sweet-scented peas; clear white. Plain Tangier peas; fine crimson. Tall oriental mallow; purple. Painted lady Tangier peas; pale red and white. Scarlet beans; fine scarlet. Curled leaf upright mallow; white tinged with purple." Whether tender or hardy, all annuals should be carefully trimmed and kept from straggling. Some will require thinning. Preserve the strongest blossoms for seed; and remove withered blooms to add vigour to those which remain. Biennials and Perennials. Carnations.-The carnation is an elegantly-formed flower, with a slender stem and blossom at top, ench blossom consisting of a convolution of petals like the rose As a number of stems grow up together, the show of brilliant heads is considerable. Of the carnations, Hogg observes-" Of all the flowers which adorn the garden, whether they charm the eye by their beauty, or regals the sense of smell by their fragrance, the carnation may be justly said to hold the first rank. The stateli ness of its growth, the brilliancy and diversity of its colours, and the sweetness of its perfume, never fail tai attract our regard and admiration. The tulip, though styled the queen of the garden, cannot boast of mor admirers; they may, with propriety, be considered the two masterpieces of nature; and though rival beautie may be said to share the sovereignty of the garden equally between them; yet it must be admitted that the carnation, independent of its fragrance, has the advantage over its rival, that it continues longer bloom, and that, when planted in pots, it can be removed to decorate the greenhouse, the conservatory, or the drawing-room.” with broad points sufficiently strong to hold the narrow bases of the petals in a close and circular body. What ever colours the flowers may be possessed of, they! should be perfectly distinct, and disposed in long regul lar stripes, broadest at the edge of the lamina, and gradually becoming narrower as they approach the claw of the petal. Each petal should have a due proporti a of white, one half or nearly so, which should be pers fectly clear, and free from spots. Bizarres, or such contain two colours upon a white ground, are esteeme rather preferable to flakes, which have but one, espe cially when their colours are remarkably rich and very regularly distributed. Scarlet, purple, and pink, are the three colours most predominant in the carnat When the pink flake is very high in colour, it is di tinguished by the appellation of rose flake." There are many varieties of the carnation, but are arranged in three classes-flakes, bizarres, piquettees. Flake-carnations possess but two colour with large stripes through the petals. Bizarres are variegated in colour, with irregular stripes and spot Piquettees have a white ground, spotted with purple some other colour, and are serrated on the edges: they! are the most common. According to amateurs, finest carnations should have a flower at least thre The difference between biennials and perennials is inches in diameter, with the edges of the petals waving in many instances very ill defined. A biennial is said or smooth, not serrated. The petals must fill the caly to be a plant which, when sown, does not bloom till the but not to bursting; if a calyx burst, the flower following spring, and dies out in the course of autumn. been imperfectly cultivated. "The calyx," says Hegg This is true as respects some biennials, but it is equally" should be at least one inch in length, terminating certain that many will survive and bloom year after year, the same as perennials. For instance, carnations are called biennials, although it is notorious that these plants will grow and multiply by roots in the same spot, year after year, with only ordinary culture. Another circumstance requires notice. No treatise on gardening that we have seen sufficiently recognises the power which biennials and other plants possess of continuing themselves by dropping their own seeds on the spot where they grow; by which means, in point of fact, many biennials, and annuals also, possess much of the virtue of perennials. In all treatises, far too much stress is laid on the necessity of artificial propagation. In most instances, biennial and perennial flowering plants simply die off from the top to the bottom of the stems at the beginning of winter, and the roots remain dormant in the ground till revived by the warmth of the ensuing spring. Except, therefore, as respects thinning, and propagating by a division of roots, and transplanting occasionally for the sake of change of soil, the unprofessional gardener has little or nothing to do in the way of multiplying the number of his plants, or artificially keeping up the species during winter. Of course, we here refer to gardening operations in the British islands, where the winters are generally so temperate that every kind of root is safe in the ground, excepting those of a tuberous nature, such as potatoes, dahlias, ranunculuses, &c., which the frost would reach and destroy. The case is very different in the Netherlands, North and Central France, and several other continental countries, where bulbs would perish if left in the ground in winter, and where even hardy evergreens require protection. The laurel, for example, remains unscathed in the open air at Edinburgh during winter, while at Brussels, five degrees farther south, it must be sheltered. Among biennial plants suitable for ordinary flowergardens, are included the following, each having several varieties: Canterbury bells, carnations, French honeysuckle, globe thistle, hollyhocks, scabius, sweet-william, rose campion, wallflower, lavatera arborea, purple digitalis, and stock gilliflowers. Some of these are very utiful flowers, and none more so than carnations. The following, which we copy from an agreeabis horticultural treatise, "The Manse-Garden," are the plainest directions we have seen respecting the culture of carnations:-"The best soil for carnations is good loam, enriched with well-rotted stable-dung, and quies ened with a little sand. The quantity of manure cas only be determined by the previous strength of the ground: if made too rich, the flowers will lose ther fine colours; if left too poor, they will want vigour. No recent manure should ever come near a fine plant Let the ground be prepared before winter with dung, and a rough furrow laid up to the frost. In April give a fresh digging, and plant in rows three feet by tw This width is to make room for layers, without whiza a fine blow of carnations cannot be maintained above one year. As the plants shoot up, they must be the to neat green rods; and in order to have a fine bly, superfluous flower-buds must be pinched off, leaving only three or four to each stem. The young sha near the ground, which do not run to flower, are dep minated grass; and from these the layers are selecte i The operation is somewhat nice, but when rightly done, is always successful, and good flowers are thus preserved and multiplied from year to year. Towards the end of July, stir up the ground about the plants. and mix with the soil a little old well-wrought compet Have at hand a sharp penknife, a trowel, and a number |