without the necessary explanation, that what our friends across the Atlantic call pelargonium is merely what we, for the sake of "the dignity of the trade," and for the general pacification of “every old lady in the land up in arms, and young ones too," are compelled to call geranium.

If, however, there be some "servile enough," and some not sufficiently intimidated by "every old lady in the land," to follow those horrible "innovators," let them read the already-mentioned article in the August number of the Journal, and reasoning of the most lucid order will convince, nay compel, them to own, that as long as they are "content to call a shovel a shovel, and a spade a spade,” they must be likewise content to call a pelargonium a geranium.

YONKERS, N.Y., Oct. 29, 1868.

F.G.

NEW-ZEALAND SPINACH (Tetragonia expansa). — In ordinary wet seasons, this spinach may not be so much wanted, as then all sorts of green vegetables are abundant and good. Nevertheless, as we are never sure of what kind of seasons we are going to have, it is well to be prepared for all contingencies. To those who are fond of spinach, it is invaluable. Whilst ordinary spinach fails to grow in summer from excessive heat and dryness, a score or so of plants of this New-Zealand spinach will produce quite an abundant supply for any ordinary family, and that through the hottest and dryest months of the year.

Its cultivation is simple. The seeds should be sown in a little heat in April or May; and the plants put out in June, in ordinary soil, about a yard apart each way. It is a rapidly-growing plant; and, although seemingly planted at a great distance apart, it soon covers the ground. The leaves are picked from it in the same way as those of ordinary spinach, or, when plentiful, the points of the young shoots, and cooked in the ordinary way. — B., Middlesex.

AMARYLLIS Seed-Sowing. -The seed should be gathered when ripe; and we prefer to sow it at once in pots well drained, and filled to within an inch of the rim with a compost of two-thirds rich yellow loam and one-third sandy peat. We then put on a little of the same kind of soil, but finer and dry, make the surface even by patting it with the bottom of a flower-pot, scatter the seed over it rather thinly, and cover with a quarter of an inch of fine soil; the least possible depth being left to hold water. The pot is then placed on the shelf in a stove; and it is not watered until the beginning of February, when the soil is moistened by a gentle watering. We then plunge the pots in a hot-bed, and encourage growth, keeping the soil moist. The pot remains in the hot-bed as long as there is any heat, and the soil is preserved in a moist condition, and a good heat is given so as to keep the young plants in a growing state as long as possible, but giving a short rest by diminishing the supply of water in November, December, and January. In February, they are again placed in a hot-bed, and forwarded in a brisk heat with plenty of moisture; and when they have made a growth, which they will do by June, we pot them off singly in pots about four times the diameter of the bulbs, and so that the bulbs are buried to the neck. They are again returned to the hot-bed, giving water abundantly and atmospheric moisture,

keeping them well supplied with moisture up to October, when the supply is diminished; but, so long as there is foliage, give enough water to keep it from flagging. The pots are top-dressed in January, removing the soil down to the roots; and it is replaced with rich, rather strong loam from rotted turfs. Do not disturb the roots or interfere with the ball; but, if the drainage be defective, rectify it. Plunge the pots in a hot-bed; encourage growth with water as required, and atmospheric moisture; and in May shift the plants into a larger size of pot, not disturbing the roots or ball beyond removing the crocks and any soil not adhering to the roots. Return the plants to the hot-bed, and keep them growing as long as they appear disposed to do so, giving a good supply of water; and, when growth ceases, remove them from the hot-bed by degrees, and set them on a shelf in the full sun in the stove, giving water so as to prevent the leaves flagging; diminishing it, however, when these show signs of going off, and keep the soil rather dry during the winter. These plants, by the third year, will have strong bulbs for flowering; and the treatment is then the same as for old plants. If inconvenient to sow the seed when ripe, it may be kept in a dry place, and sown early in February. We have kept it in silver sand in a flower-pot in a stove until February; and we cannot say which is the better plan: both proved good. English Journal of Horticulture.

LILIUM AURATUM. Some fine examples of Lilium auratum have been bloomed this year. At Melchet Court, Mr. Cross had one bulb with three stems about eight feet six inches in height, which bore respectively eighty-one, thirty-four, and twenty-eight flower-buds; besides four small offset-stems, bearing eight flowers; making a total of a hundred and fifty-one. In the gardens at Quarry Bank, Allerton, another had five stout stems from seven feet six inches to eight feet high, three having seventeen flowers each, and the other two fifteen each; also nine smaller stems from three feet to four feet in height, bearing amongst them nineteen flowers; making a hundred flowers. Mr. Tanton of Epsom had one with seven stems, on which was an aggregate of fifty-two flowers; while another later spike had forty-nine well-swelled buds. Mr. Tanton grows his plants in good peat, and does not shake them out when dormant; but they are allowed to start again in the same pot, and are shifted onwards in the same compost. Much of the failure that sometimes takes place in the cultivation of this beautiful lily must be attributed to the division and shaking-out of the bulbs, operations which not only bruise, but actually sometimes break away, the outside ripe scales, each of which forms in itself a reservoir of nutriment for future growth and support. Florist.

CYANOPHYLLUM.

This plant requires to be grown in a stove, in a strong moist heat, and with just shading enough to prevent scorching. It requires liberal potting when young, and to have a free open compost of rough peat and sand, to which a little mellow loam may be added in the later stages. It was introduced some years since from Tropical America.

MADAME TREYVE PEAR. One of the most beautiful, perhaps the most beautiful and finest summer pear we have seen, is a variety sent us by Mr. Rivers, and of which we furnish our readers with a figure in our present number. As will be seen by the figure, it is of good size; but it requires the painter's pencil to give any idea of the color, which, on the side exposed to the sun, is of a brilliant vermilion crimson, more brilliant even than Forelle, which is one of the highest-colored of pears. On the shaded side, Madame Treyve is of a pale

straw-yellow; but on that next the sun, and extending over three parts of the surface of the fruit, it is as we have already described it, and dotted with minute yellow dots. The eye is very small and open, and set in a narrow, round basin; the stalk slender, half an inch to three-quarters long, set in a round, narrow cavity; flesh white, like that of Forelle, melting like a peach, very juicy, rich, and sugary, with a delicate and highly-refined aroma. A most delicious pear, ripe in the beginning of September. — English Journal of Horticulture.

DOYENNÉ DU COMICE PEar. - - This is one of the newer French pears, and is one of first-class excellence; coming into use in the months of October and November. The fruit is large and obovate, with a smooth skin, and, when ripe, of a yellowish-green color, with here and there irregular patches of russet on the sunny side, which is also frequently flushed with red. The eye is small, and set in an even basin; and the stalk is short and thick, inserted obliquely. The flesh is white, very juicy, fine-grained, and perfectly melting, with a deli

cious and peculiar aroma. It is, doubtless, one of the finest pears of its season, and is eminently deserving of extensive cultivation. In size it is equal to a Duchesse d'Angoulême; but, in regard to flavor, it is much superior to that variety, and more like Marie Louise or Glou Morceau. It keeps longer fit for use than most varieties: a point of no small importance; for, in the case of many good pears, there is only a very short season during which they can be called eatable. The tree is hardy and a good bearer; succeeding well on the quince, either as a pyramid or standard. — B.

LILIUM AURATUM. It is not safe to leave the bulbs of this lily in the open ground unprotected during the winter. It may survive; but the chances are against it. Cover the bed with a frame, and fill in with leaves.

Petunias, DOUBLE AND SINGle Varieties. Remarks on the Culture. Petunias may be considered as one of the indispensable class of plants for the flower-garden, especially the single varieties, and the double for decorating the greenhouse or conservatory during the summer and autumn months. Of the former, as well as the latter, there are now a great number of sorts in cultivation, and some of them are very beautifully striped; but of that strain very few are adapted for planting in beds or borders, because their growth in those situations becomes very straggling. But cultivated in pots, and trained to a trellis, they have, owing to their fanciful stripes and colors, a very picturesque effect: certainly there are some very good rich-colored selfs, too, in this class, that may be used for the same purposes. But those which are most suitable for the flower-garden are generally more compact in their habit, and bloom in greater profusion. Perhaps one of the best examples of the kind we have now in culture is the Countess of Ellesmere, a charming rose-colored flower, with a white throat. It withstands the weather exceedingly well; and, the longer it is growing, the more does the continuous succession of blooms increase. It is admirably adapted for a wire basket. We have a basket suspended in which the plant has been grown for these two years past, with other things of minor growth; and its shoots trail in every direction, and continue to flower in abundance, and have so from the middle of May. There are other sorts that are similar in style of growth and blooming-qualities, such as William's Purple Border and Shrub Rose; and for whites, Alba Magna. The majority of the self-colored single varieties can be produced true to their strain from seeds. But then it requires that the seed should be saved with care, that is, the plant from which you gather it should be grown in a spot by itself, — as, should there be two or more varieties intermixed, the chances are that they will hybridize each other, and thus the seed will yield a totally different variety from the parent. It may be superior to the latter, or inferior: so, in the event of your being under the necessity of grouping your various sorts together, it would be better to preserve the variety by propagating them from cuttings. I have always had the seed which has been purchased of a respectable seedsman produce the plants

correct to name.

It should be sown in large garden pans or pots well drained about the middle of September, and allowed to remain in the seed-pan till early in the ensuing spring, when they may be pricked out, several in a pot, and subjected to a little warmth to encourage their growth; and, when sufficiently strong enough, they can be potted singly or otherwise, as it may best suit the cultivator. As they grow, the shoots should be occasionally stopped, in order to obtain a bushy growth. It does not matter how cool the temperature is to which they are subjected during the winter months, so long as you guard against damp and frost. Some sow in the spring; but I have always had the strongest from the autumnsown plants.

We shall now offer some observations on the double varieties; for, in their list, they include some really charming flowers, and many of them impart a fragrance which makes them the more desirable. They are propagated from cuttings: and the spring is the best time for that purpose; for, if an old plant is put