BEDDING Roses.

Some people have an idea that any rose is a good pole or wall variety that grows strong enough to run up a pole or wall, and that any rose which is of a striking color and free-flowering is good for bedding. A pole or wall rose should be short-jointed, break well at all the eyes, with foliage or bud-stalks, and its side-branches should not grow longer than twelve inches without flowering.

My present purpose, however, is to speak of bedders. These should be roses of moderate growth, of striking colors, and of tolerably erect habit, requiring no props. Cardinal Patrizzi is a perfect type of a bedder. Let us suppose that you have parterres, and wish to have each filled with a separate sort on the principle of Tom Thumb pelargoniums: I think these would gratify your wishes:

Hybrid Perpetuals. - Cardinal Patrizzi, deep rich purple-crimson; Triomphe d'Angers, brilliant velvety red-purple; Géant des Batailles, scarlet-crimson; Le Rhone, ruddle red; Jean Bart, the nearest to lake; Pauline Lanzezeur, bright crimson; Louise Margottin, delicate satin-pink; Prince Henri de Pays Bas, brilliant crimson, folded like a ball; Madame Alfred de Rougemont, white; Vainqueur de Goliath, crimson-scarlet; Madame Bonnaire, white, with peach blush; Duke of Wellington, rich crimson, with dark shade; Belle Normande, pale rose shaded with silvery white.

Bourbons.

Dupetit Thouars, beautiful crimson; Queen, buff-rose. China. - Cramoisie Supérieure, rich velvety crimson; Eugène Beauharnais, amaranth.

Tea.

La Boule d'Or, egg-yellow; Auguste Vacher, very curious: the petals are pure deep gold at the base, and pure bright copper at the edges. The colors are half-and-half, without confusion.

Gallican. The only good variegated roses suited for bedding-purposes are Œillet Parfait and Perle des Panachées. The former is by far the best variegated rose known, and most beautiful.

The best roses of a very dark nature for bedding-purposes are Alexandre Dumas and Vulcan, both hybrid perpetuals.

Beds of the above, with from twelve to twenty plants in each, would look well; and they are best suited to the purpose. W. F. Radclyffe, in Florist.

A PLEA FOR THE PHALENOPSIS. To the class among plant-lovers (it is hoped not small) whose pleasure lies not only in possessing what is rarest of floral beauty, but in the sharing the æsthetic delight it offers.

One tiny plant, imported within the year, has yielded so munificently of unequalled bloom, and given so many cultivated people a new pleasure of the right sort, and doubtless awakened much dormant love for what is best, that it would seem selfish to retain the experience.

The plant in question, Phalanopsis amabilis, came from England in July of last year, opened its first flower Nov. 14, quickly followed by four others, which, for an average of seventy-one days, afforded a delight hard to convey through words. Eighty-two days was the longest duration, in perfection, of any one of these flowers, and fifty-six the least. In the mean time, the same stem

had pushed, and three buds more formed and expanded before all the others had faded; and these, lasting an average of fifty-eight days, were succeeded by six others (the same stem still serving), which at the present writing (the middle of May) retain their incomparable purity and freshness, while the stem begins to form other buds anew. The flowers have measured three inches and a half across. What plant besides, for a period of six months, never without a flower, with a still incomplete record, is offered us?

In "The Gardener's Chronicle" for April of the present year is mentioned a display, in a private orchid-house, of this plant, where, "though a hundred flowers had been taken off for a ball, there were still, a few days ago, about a thousand flowers open."

The petals are of great purity of white, with a shallow throat beautifully marked with purple, rose, and yellow. It is a plant that deserves its rank, the "Queen of Orchids."

TROY, N.Y.

S.

A friend having a plant of this same variety had at one time eighty flowers upon one stem and its lateral branches.

THE VAN BUren Golden Dwarf PeaCH. This distinct and remarkable variety was discovered by Mr. J. Van Buren of Clarksville, Ga., in the year 1857. Mr. Van Buren states that he discovered it growing in his nursery, and expresses his opinion that "it is a sprout from some ordinary variety." Evidently it is a chance seedling; but its habit of growth and other characteristics are so marked, that it is hard to understand how it could have sprung from our common peach. The wood is so short-jointed, and so thickly set with fruit-buds, as to resemble the wood and buds of the currant ; the buds not being more than a quarter of an inch apart. I should judge that the tree would rarely exceed four feet in height; and it will bear full crops at half that height, as I have had experience the present season. In its dwarf habit, it is probably exceeded by the Italian Dwarf, though the latter is not equal to the Van Buren in other respects. This dwarf habit is no stunted growth: on the contrary, the growth and foliage are most luxuriant, the leaves being of the richest green. It is obvious that a fruit having this character will prove invaluable for many purposes, provided its quality is up to the standard. Its habit is perfect for house culture, never requiring pinching, and little pruning of any kind. Considering its productiveness, and the small space required, we may say, that, in habit of growth, it is the ne plus ultra for forcing. In the colder sections of the country, many cultivators are adopting the plan of keeping peaches in pots throughout the year; removing them to the cellar during the winter as a protection from frost, and plunging the pots in the open ground during summer. Of course, a good dwarf would have manifest advantages for this purpose. So also dwarf trees, when planted in the open ground, can be much more easily protected from frost by means of boughs or barrels. Now as to the quality of the fruit, and other characteristics of the variety.

As one of the fruits of the late war, we have been deprived of this fruit up to this date. Mr. Van Buren had just prepared to send out his stock of trees

when the war broke out. A few trees got into Pennsylvania before the lines were established; and from these come our present stock, which is now in the hands of most nursery-men. In some instances, I have heard that the wood was injured by the cold of last winter in the vicinity of Boston. Trees standing in my own ground were uninjured in wood, though the fruit-buds were killed. The indications are that it is not as hardy as some other kinds. This is a great drawback for open culture. I would here mention that peach-wood does not bear burial in the ground as well as most other kinds of fruits. If the soil is any other than light and sandy, the wood of the peach is liable to blacken and rot. Evergreen boughs with leaves around the roots will probably be quite sufficient protection for the wood and fruit-buds.

I have had the good fortune to ripen this fruit in pots this season. The trees were started very gradually in the house, and plunged in the open ground in early June. I should judge it might ripen in the open ground about Sept. 15. The following representation of the fruit shows the average size, though the form varies considerably:

Time

Description. - Fruit large, oblong, sometimes round; apex : often very prominent and pointed; color a golden yellow, with rich crimson cheek; flesh yellow, firm, juicy, sub-acid, sprightly, and good; clings firmly to the stone. probably Sept. 10 to October. Notwithstanding the general objection to clingstones, and also the doubt as to its entire hardiness in full exposure, yet it has other qualities, which, to all appearance, make it a decided acquisition.

W. C. Strong.

LEAF-BEET, OR SWISS CHARD (Beta cicla). - The leaf-beet is a native of the sea-coasts of Spain and Portugal. It is a biennial plant, and is cultivated for its leaves and leaf-stalks. The roots are much branched or divided, hard, fibrous, and unfit for use.

Propagation and Cultivation. It is propagated, like other beets, from seed sown annually; and will thrive in any good garden-soil. The sowing may be made at any time in April or May, in drills eighteen inches apart, and an inch and a half deep. When the plants are well up, thin them to ten or twelve inches apart, and treat during the season as the common red beet, stirring the surface frequently, and keeping clear of weeds. The excellence of this vegetable consists in the succulent character of the stems, and nerves of the leaves; and these properties are best acquired in moist and warm seasons, or by copious watering in dry weather.

Taking the Crop. —“The largest and fullest-grown leaves should be gathered first: others will follow. If grown for spinach, the leaves should be rinsed in clean water, and afterwards placed in a basket to drain dry; if for chard, or for the leaf-stalks and veins, these should be carefully preserved, and the entire leaves tied up in bundles of six or eight in each."

Seed. During the first season, select a few vigorous plants, and allow them to grow unplucked. Just before the closing-up of the ground in autumn, take up the roots, and, after removing the tops an inch above the crown, pack them in dry sand in the cellar. The following spring, as soon as the ground is in working order, set them out, with the crowns level with the surface of the ground, and about two feet and a half apart. As the plants increase in height, tie them to stakes to prevent injury from wind; and in August, when the seed is ripe, cut off the stems near the ground, and spread them entire, in an airy situation, till they are sufficiently dried for threshing out.

The seed, or fruit, has the appearance peculiar to the family; although those of the different varieties, like the seeds of the red beet, vary somewhat in size, and shade of color.

An ounce of seed will sow a hundred feet of drill, or be sufficient for a nursery-bed of fifty square feet.

Use."This species of beet — for, botanically considered, it is a distinct species from Beta vulgaris, the common or red beet―is cultivated exclusively for its leaves; whereas the red beet is grown for its roots. These leaves are boiled like spinach, and also put into soups. The midribs and stalks, which are separated from the lamina of the leaf, are stewed and eaten like asparagus, under the name of 'chard.' As a spinaceous plant, the white beet might be grown to great advantage in the vegetable garden, as it affords leaves fit for use during the whole summer."

The thin part of the leaves is sometimes put into soups, together with sorrel, to correct the acidity of the latter.

The varieties are as follows:

Green or Common Leaf-Beet.

Stalks and leaves large, green; the roots are tough and fibrous, and measure little more than an inch in diameter; the leaves are tender, and of good quality.

If a sowing be made as soon in spring as the frost will permit, another in June, and a third the last of July, they will afford a constant supply of tender greens, nearly or quite equal to spinach. For this purpose, the rows need be but a foot apart.

Curled Leaf-Beet.— Stalks white; leaves pale yellowish-green, with broad midribs, large nerves, and a blistered surface, like some of the savoys. It may be grown, as a substitute for spinach, in the manner directed for the common or green-leaved variety.

Red Stock Leaf-Beet. — Leaf-stalks bright purplish-red; leaves green, blistered on the surface; nerves purplish-red. A beautiful sort, remarkable for the rich and brilliant color of the stems and nerves of the leaves.

Yellow-stalked Leaf-Beet. — A variety with bright-yellow leaf-stalks and yellowish leaves. The nerves of the leaves are yellow, like the leaf-stalks; the color is peculiarly rich and clear; and the stalks are quite attractive, and even ornamental. Quality tender and good.

Silver-leaf Beet. — Swiss Chard.—Stalks large; leaves of medium size, erect, with strong, white ribs and veins. The leaf-stalks and nerves are cooked and served like asparagus, and somewhat resemble it in texture and flavor. It is considered the best of the leaf-beets. — F. Burr, Jun.

BLUE-FLOWERED BEDDING-PLANTS. It is a very common remark among flower-gardeners, both amateur and professional, that we have only one really good blue-flowered bedding-plant; namely, Lobelia erinus speciosa, with its varieties. Now, to say the least of it, this assertion is very unfair, as by implication it reflects rather seriously upon the good name and character of more than one very respectable blue flower. The lobelia certainly is the most serviceable, because the most manageable, of any blue-flowered bedders which we as yet possess, and, for certain situations, could hardly be surpassed by any the most visionary could imagine. In scroll or chain-borders, associated with Cerastium and other low-growing plants, nothing can be better: but I have seen beds eight or ten feet in diameter massed with it entirely, with a view to complete some complicated combination of colors which nobody but the designer himself could detect; and, however well such beds may look from a bird's-eye point of view, to ordinary earth-walking mortals like myself they appear decidedly weedy.

Delphinium formosum, while admired by everybody, is but little used as a bedder; though why this should be the case is not very evident. As regards color, it is in no way inferior to Salvia patens; while in form, habit, and stormenduring capabilities, it is, beyond all doubt, greatly its superior. For mixing in large informal beds, as centres for such, or as a second back row in ribbonborders, it is very effective: in fact, by a moderate amount of pegging-down, it may be made available for nearly every situation in any design not absolutely arabesque. The sole blot in its character is, that, between the first and second flowering, there intervenes a period of six weeks or two months, according to the season: therefore, to obtain a succession of flower, it is necessary to plant doubly thick, and retard every alternate plant by cutting it back a week or so