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PLANTING FLOWER GARDENS.

of the pot in which the stock grew; and when the union had taken place completely, they used to repot them into deeper pots so as to bury the wound under the mould. A practice so unskilful was of course unsuccessful; the plants being thus too deeply potted did not prosper, and, as might be expected, deterred many from purchasing, from an idea that the plants were either short-lived, or would not grow without the care of a proficient person. The case, however, is otherwise; scarcely any plant is easier than the Camellia, although it must be admitted that, to grow them in the first degree of excellence, much judgment is required. Camellias, like most other plants, have their periods of growth and also of rest; during the former state they cannot hardly be watered over much, and during the latter they will soon languish if too bountifully supplied. For this no rules can be laid down; experience and observation on the part of the cultivator alone can be a safe guide.

PLANTING FLOWER GARDENS.

THE time for planting and bedding out plants, in the places where they are to form the great display of the flower-garden, is fast approaching; and it cannot be too strongly urged upon those who have this work to do, that system in arranging the colour is absolutely essential to complete success. It ought to be no satisfaction to a gardener that his grounds look well, while it is easily demonstrated that they might have looked better. By those who have paid much attention to this part of the gardener's business, it must have been often noticed that different artistes produce very different effects with the same plants; and this upon a careful examination will be found to arise more from the judicious arrangement of the colours than from any other circumstance. It is also easily seen that this subject receives very little attention generally, although nothing can be more important; thus what can be more beautiful than some of the white Verbenas, or the yellow Escholtzia, but place these two sorts together, and the pure white of the Verbenas is quite destroyed. Neither should colours be placed, as many persons suppose, in violent contrast, because richness of effect is not produced by contrast but by harmony. Thus the scarlet Verbena or Geranium harmonizes with the purple Verbena, or any of the blue Lobelias; these again with the Erysimum or any orange-coloured flower. The new Geranium lucea rosea will harmonize most delicately with any flower of a pure white colour; for that purpose it will be almost invaluable, while the great want of a good violet colour to harmonize with the numerous yellows is likely to be supplied by the Plumbago Larpentæ. In some cases, however, especially on gravelled terraces, complementary or contrasted colours are desirable; and these are much more easily managed, there being an easy and well-known method of finding the true constant to any colour, which is this; take a piece of paper, of the colour of the flower for which it is desired to find the contrast, or a petal of the flower itself, cut a small circle out of it, which lay upon a sheet of white paper, gaze on it steadily for a minute, and then, without allowing the

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eye to close, look upon another part of the paper, where a circle or spectrum of another colour will be distinctly seen; and this will be found the true contrasting colour. Without attending to these rules the beautiful variety among our bedding out plants is almost useless; but with care every shade of colour will be made to add to the beauty of the whole.

DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING PLANTS.

BY A LADY.

It is unnecessary to enumerate all the advantages resulting from the possession of a collection of preserved plants, as they can be fully appreciated only by a person who has made considerable progress in the study of Botany. But the beginner requires to be informed that nothing can more materially aid him in his endeavours to become familiar with the objects which vegetation presents to his view, than such a collection, to which he can at all times refer, either for refreshing his memory or for instituting a more minute examination than he had previously made. Plants are generally preserved by drying, and a collection of this kind is called a Hortus siccus or Herbarium. Various methods are in use for drying plants, but the following being among the most simple and efficacious, and attended with little difficulty, is here preferred.

The articles necessary for the accomplishment of the object in view are, a quantity of smooth soft paper, of large size (sixteen quires perhaps); eight boards of the same size, about an inch thick, of hard wood; four iron weights, or pieces of lead, two of them about forty pounds weight, the others half that number. Or in place of these weight a number of clean bricks may be used, or in short any heavy bodies of convenient form. Along with these articles a botanical box is necessary. This box is made of tin, and varies in size from nine inches to two feet in length, according to the taste and avidity of the collector.

In gathering plants for this purpose, such as are smaller than the size of the paper are to be taken up roots and all. In many cases portions only of plants can be preserved, on account of their size, and then the most essential parts are to be selected, including always the flowers. Plants to be preserved are to be gathered in dry weather, and immediately deposited in the tin box, which prevents their becoming shrivelled by evaporation. If gathered in wet weather, they must be laid out for some time on a table or elsewhere to undergo a partial drying. When roots have been taken up along with the stems, they ought to be first washed, and then exposed for some time to the air.

Let us now suppose that a dozen specimens are procured. Over one of the boards lay two or three sheets of the paper, on the uppermost of which spread out the plant to be dried, unfolding its various parts, not however so as to injure its natural appearance. A few of the flowers and leaves ought to be laid out with particular care. Over this specimen lay half-a-dozen sheets of paper, on the uppermost of which lay another plant as before, and so on successively, until the whole are

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DIRECTIONS FOR PRESERVING PLANTS.

disposed of. A few sheets are then laid upon the last, and a board placed over all.

Plants, viewed with reference to drying, may be divided into two classes; the one comprehending those which being thin, soft, and flexible, require little pressure to reduce them to a level, the other including such as being stiff and thick require much pressure. Supposing the above plants to have been of the first class, we lay upon the upper board one of the smaller weights. A series of more stubborn specimens being, in like manner, placed between other two boards, we lay one of the larger weights upon them.

Should more specimens be collected next day, they are disposed of in the same manner, and thus successively. At the end of three days generally, the plants first laid in are to be taken out, together with the paper about them. They are to be laid in fresh paper, three or four sheets being placed between every two plants, and the whole put between two boards, with a weight over them. The second series is similarly treated next day, and so on. The paper from which the plants have been removed is to be dried for future use.

There will thus be four sets of plants; two in the first stage of drying, and two in the second stage. The plants of the second stage sets should be taken out about three days after they have been deposited, and after dry paper has been put about them, returned to their places. The paper may thus be shifted until the plants be perfectly dry, when they are finally removed. Each plant is then placed in a sheet of dry paper, and along with it is deposited a slip of paper, on which are written the name of the plant, the place in which it was gathered, the time of gathering, the soil, and such other circumstances as may tend to elucidate the history of the species. Thus prepared, the plants are packed up in bundles, which gradually enlarge their dimensions, or increase in number till the end of the season.

Having in this manner collected a certain number of plants, the collector has now to arrange them. For this purpose he has to procure a quantity of good stout writing or printing paper of large size, folded into folio, which is to be stitched in coloured covers, making fasciculi of five or six sheets each. A quantity of fine large post or other writing paper, in half sheets, folio size, cut round the edges, is also to be at hand. Let a number of narrow slips of different lengths be cut from a piece of the same paper, and let some prepared isinglass or dissolved gum be in readiness, together with a camel-hair pencil. Take a dried plant, lay it upon a leaf of the fine cut paper, then fasten it down by means of a few of the slips, to which isinglass or gum has been applied, laid across the stem and some of the branches. Two or three slips are generally sufficient for a plant or specimen. In this manner all the dried plants destined to form part of the herbarium are treated. Write the name of each species on the top of the leaf, and transcribe the notice respecting the place in which it was gathered, &c., at the bottom. Then arrange the plant according to system, and lay one between every two pages of the fasciculi. The fasciculi are formed into bundles, by being laid alternately up and down upon each other, as they do not lie conveniently when the heads of the plants are

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all at the top of the bundle, because the stalks and roots are thicker than the flowers. These bundles, consisting each of ten fasciculi, may be covered by pieces of pasteboard tied by strings. The collection is kept on the shelves of a cabinet, or in a chest. To prevent the attacks of insects, it is necessary to keep beside it a piece of sponge soaked full of rectified oil of turpentine; and to ensure it against decay from damp, it ought to be kept in a dry and well ventilated place.

The above is an orderly method of forming a herbarium; but many other expedients are resorted to. Most plants dry sufficiently well between the leaves of old books, and many collectors save themselves the trouble of forming a neat collection, by huddling up their specimens in the least expensive or laborious manner.

Another method of putting up dried plants is the following:-The specimens are fastened to leaves of stout paper of uniform size; the species are then arranged in order, and all those of the same genus are placed within one or more sheets of paper, on the outside of which the generic name is written. The generic fasciculi are then collected into bundles, on which are written the names of the classes and orders. Some persons keep their specimens loose, within sheets of paper. This method is the most convenient for the minute examination of the plants, but has disadvantages which render it inexpedient in ordinary cases.

ZAUCHNERIA CALIFORNICA.

No plant can be more desirable for general cultivation in the flower garden than that, which is perfectly hardy, and continues in bloom constantly during summer and autumn, without the trouble even of a Verbena, which requires winter protection.

It was first discovered by the late Mr. Menzies, during the latter part of the last century, who reported it to be a plant of extraordinary beauty, with brilliant scarlet flowers, resembling those of an old Fuchsia coccinea, but in an upright position. When the Horticultural Society sent Mr. Hartweg to California, he was instructed to seek out this plant, which he found on the mountains of Santa Cruz, beginning to flower in June, but afterwards on the outskirts of woods and open dry places, blooming from June to November, during which time scarcely a drop of rain falls. The summer heat, however, of Monterey is seldom more than from 62 to 65 degrees during the daytime; and the rainy season commences in November, and continues for several days without ceasing, and finally terminates in March; shortly afterwards the prairies teem with floral beauty, and immense fields of such plants as Escholtzia, Collinsia, Nemophila, Leptosiphons, &c., appear in full bloom; but as the dry weather sets in soon afterwards, all soon becomes a dry barren waste, and only trees and shrubs remain green, except a few herbaceous ones in moist places, but the Zauchneria flowers in the greatest perfection. It grows freely in this country in any soil or situation in which a Verbena will grow, and is easily increased by the young shoots in spring or summer. It blooms from June to the end of the season. Seeds are freely produced too, and if they are sown and treated as half-hardy annuals are, the plants VOL. XVII. No. 28.-N.S.

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begin to bloom by the end of June. It will make a fine bedding plant, its fine orange-scarlet flowers being highly ornamental. It grows bushy, from one to two feet high.--Magazine of Gardening.

worms.

ON DESTROYING THE WIRE-WORM.

MOST Ranunculus growers have had to suffer by the attacks of wireThe following simple plan has saved my roots from their ravages for seven successive years :

I always prepare my compost early in the autumn, I lay it in large heaps, well exposed to the frost; in the winter, so soon as the frost is sufficiently severe to freeze these compost heaps to the depth of one or two inches, I then take off all the frozen parts, and remove it to an exposed situation, and I renew this operation every two or three days so long as the frost continues, until I have got as much as I require for the beds. In the month of February I break the soil fine, and fill the beds from twelve to fiteen inches deep, which I consider a sufficient depth for the roots of the Ranunculus. The beginning of March is the time which I prefer for planting; this is four or five weeks later than is generally practised. I always steep the roots in water for six or eight hours before planting them; by experience of this method I find that the roots begin to vegetate as soon as they are planted, and come equally as early into bloom as those which were planted much earlier, and by this mode of treatment I find that the crowns or tops of the roots are not so liable to be killed by the frost as those which are planted in January or February. The soil which I use for the growth of Anemones, Carnations, and Pinks, I treat exactly in the same manner, as I find that the wire-worm is equally as destructive to the roots of these as it is to the Ranunculus.

GRAFTING THE ROSE.

BY ROSA.

THE following method of cultivating the Rose by grafting, is very interesting and successful, as well as having the advantage of economy, as you make use of the cuttings of the pruned trees, which would otherwise be lost. It must be remembered, however, that it should only be practised upon free well-rooted stocks, as otherwise the delay in the rising of the sap, and the uncertainty of the supply, frequently defeat the purpose. Grafting, therefore, should succeed budding on the same stock, not precede it; as a bud failing on the stock, if the branch be not destroyed while the sap is up, leaves the stock still vigorous in the ground; if therefore you wish to try this mode, it should be upon stocks that have had a spring to root themselves.

The points to be desired are, that the barks of scion and stock should be cut quite smooth, and not separated from the wood they grow upon; that neither should be bruised; when they are put together they should fit close; a supply of sap should commence as soon as possible; that all sun, wind, and rain should be kept from the wound till healed, and

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