ground around the main stem from the exhausting heat of the sun. When once planted, it requires no trouble, but keeps growing till the plant runs up to seed. To give additional size to the stems, cut off the seed stalk. Suckers taken from known and approved plants succeed well, but the plant can easily be raised from seed. Each plant requires considerable space. In taking away the stalks for use, do not cut them, but wrench them from the main stock, so as to take them out by the socket. The earliest sorts in repute are Buck's scarlet, and the new Tobolsk, or yellow stalked. Radford's scarlet Goliah is later, but remains in season till August; it surpasses for delicacy, fullness of flavour, and extreme productiveness, all its competitors. Rhubarb may be forced by very simple means. Α common method is to cover the plant in the early part of the year with a box, to which air is admitted, and covered with a little stable-manure. This blanches, as well as brings forward the stalks; but that is an advantage, as it renders the vegetable more tender and delicate in flavour. Some bring forward the plants in pots in darkened forcing-houses, and, for this purpose, plants two years old are most suitable. Watering copiously is necessary in the early stages of growth, whether in the open air or under boxes. As rhubarb forms a valuable vegetable for tarts in spring, before gooseberries are ready, it would not be misspent time or trouble for a cottager to attempt forcing by the simple means above recommended. may be laid regularly at the side, and if good, it will do | for earthing the bed hereafter; otherwise, if brought from a distance, that of a more loamy than a sandy nature will be best. Either in the trench, or if upon the surface, there should be laid about four inches of good dung, not too short, for forming the bottom of the bed; then lay on the prepared dung a few inches thick regularly over the surface, beating it as regularly down with the fork; continue thus, gradually drawing in the sides to the height of five feet, until it narrows to the top like the ridge of a house. In that state it may remain for ten days or a fortnight, during which time the heat should be examined towards the middle of the bed, by thrusting some small sharp sticks down in three or four places; and when found of a gentle heat (not hot), the bed may be spawned; for which purpose the spawn bricks should be broken regularly into pieces about an inch and a half or two inches square, beginning within six inches of the bottom of the bed, and in lines about eight inches apart; the same distance will also do for the pieces of spawn, which, in a dung ridge, are best put in by one hand, raising the dung up a few inches, whilst with the other the spawn can be laid in and covered at the same time. After spawning the bed, if it is found to be in that regular state of heat before mentioned, it may be earthed. After the surface is levelled with the back of the spade, there should be laid on two inches of mould-that out of the trench, if dry and good, will do; otherwise, if to be brought, and a choice made, that of a kindly loam is to be preferred. After having been laid on, it is to be beaten closely together, and when the whole is finished, the bed must be covered about a foot thick with good oat-straw, over which should be laid mats, for the double purpose of keeping the bed dry and of securing the covering from being blown off. In the course of two or three days the bed should be examined, and if it is considered that the heat is likely to increase, the covering must be diminished for a few days, which is better than taking it entirely off. In about a month or five weeks (but frequently within the former time, if the bed is in a high state of cultivation) mushrooms will most likely make their appearance, and in the course of eight-and-forty hours afterwards they will have grown to a sufficient size for use; in which case the author recommends that, instead of cutting them off close to the ground, they be drawn out with a gentle twist, filling up the cavity with a little fine mould, gently pressed in level with the bed." SEA-KALE. This is a perennial vegetable, deriving its name from being found growing in a wild state on the sandy downs which border the southern coasts of England. The method of garden culture is as follows:Beds or spaces for single rows should be trenched and prepared as for asparagus; and at any dry period of March, when the surface earth will work freely, one or more drills should be drawn by the line, two inches deep, and the seeds scattered along the drill; or, the line being strained tight, five or six seeds should be inserted in rings two inches deep, made at the distance of two feet apart. The seeds are then covered with earth, and when the plants become strong, they are to be thinned of supernumeraries, leaving one or two of the strongest remaining eighteen inches or two feet asunder every way. If the plants be weak, it will be prudent to retain double the number. During the first season, nothing more will be required than to keep the bed or row free of weeds. In the following spring, if the plants stand nearer to each other than eighteen inches, the surplus number should be carefully raised, and transferred to another prepared space, planting the crowns of the roots two inches below the surface. Eighteen inches to two feet, according to the strength of the plants, may be the regular distances at which they are to remain. The first bed, if pots be placed over the crowns, will yield a moderate supply of blanched kale during April or May of the second spring. As mushrooms may be said to cost no more than a little trouble, manure, and space for growth, at what an inconsiderable cost might not this excellent vegetable be abundantly procured! No product of the garden has hitherto been less attended to, and few afford so high a relish, either in their substantial form or as ketchup. NASTURTIUM, or Indian cress, is a native of South America, but is not tender: it is used occasionally (that is, the green seed-vessels are) as a pickle. These, when they ripen, separate, and drop on the ground, where they remain torpid till the spring. Thus the plant sows itself, and so do most of the garden ornamental varieties. It therefore requires no minute direcany one who once possesses a plant, can multiply it by sowing seed in any way or place which tions; and may suit his taste. PARSLEY.-Several species and varieties of parsley are in cultivation; these are the plain and curled leaved, and the common and the broad-leaved, or Hamburg parsley. Preference ought to be given to the curled-leaved parsley. This vegetable is one of the most easily cultivated, and it will long keep the ground with little trouble. It is sown in drills in any spare patches of border, and arrives at maturity the next season. When it has attained this state, sprigs may be taken from it when required. When it becomes rank, it may be rooted out, and fresh parsley sown. RHUBARB This is a large vegetable, grown for the The leaves are very broad and spreading, to catch moisture, and shelter the sake of its firm leaf stalks. Sea-kale may be forced at various periods, commencing with November, by inverting large pots over the plants, and covering those with warm dung, or dung and leaves, to excite and maintain a heat in the pot and soil of about 55 degrees. Sea-kale, like other plants, subjected to heat, can be, as it were, educated and made to conform to induced habits. Thus, at first, it seems to remain long torpid, even though the heat be considerable; but after a second season, provided the gardener be himself regular, the plants will yield to the stimulant almost to a day, though it be comparatively mild; hence sea-kale is at command from December to March by heat, and then the succession can be maintained during April and part of May by the cold beds or rows. As soon as the kale is cut from one or more roots, a sharp spade should be thrust through it, so as to cut the plant level with the surface, SPINACH is an annual, of which there are many varieties. The following are the principal kinds :-1. The round-leaved, smooth-seeded, which is sown chiefly for spring and summer crops; 2. The triangular-leaved, prickly-seeded, or winter spinach-it is sown in Au gust, stands the winter, and continues in full bearing | during spring and till midsummer; 3. The New Zealand spinach, a plant very different from the true spinach, and now neglected; 4. The white beet spinach, cultivated only for the leaves. The round-leaved should be sown about the end of January, and again in February and March, for successive spring and summer crops. The triangular-leaved is to be sown at the end of July or first week of August, and the leaves come into use at the beginning of winter; the plants require thinning and hoeing. The outer leaves only are to be taken during winter and spring, the inner leaves forming in their turn an ample succession. The seed or flower stalks will become apparent in the early part of the summer, and some of the best plants, male and female (for spinach produces both separately), should be left to perfect the seeds. The garden is now supposed to have assumed its perfect summer garb, with all things advancing in their early and mid-stages of growth. June.-Sow kidney beans, runners, &c.; water growing plants, if required; hoe potatoes, cabbages, and peas; and thin out beds. July. Sow broccoli for the last time; also turnips, lettuces, &c.; and prepare all the unoccupied plots of ground for autumn and winter crops. August.-Commence now to sow for the crops of next year, such as onions, early cabbages, and parsley; also winter spinach. Earth celery; hoe and thin turnips; cut down stems of gathered artichokes, and generally clear out all stumps and stalks of used plants, for their continuance exhausts the ground to no proper purpose. September. The kitchen gardener has now got his principal labours in cropping over, and his chief work is continuing to sow for winter and spring successions; he also digs potatoes that seem ready, and takes care to cut down and clear off weeds. VEGETABLE MARROW is a species of gourd (cucurbita) cultivated extensively of late years. It was brought originally from Persia, and was particularly noticed by October. The garden having been prepared for spring Mr Sabine, in the Horticultural Transactions, vol. ii., vegetables, sow what was left over last month, includ where he described the best culinary variety as bearing celery, asparagus, also early peas and beans. The ing a "fruit of uniform pale-yellow or light-sulphur colour, when full grown, about nine inches in length, four inches in diameter, of an elliptic shape, the surface being rendered slightly uneven by irregular longitudinal ribs, the terminations of which uniting, form a projecting apex at the end of the fruit, which is very unusual in this tribe." There are other varieties which produce fruit that weighs twenty or thirty pounds, oblong in figure, and quite green during growth; this is coarse in flavour, and in no respect equal to the small cream-coloured variety. Sow in pots of any light soil early in April, treating the plants exactly as cucumbers under glass. About the middle of May, transfer them to a bed of rich earth over a trench filled with warm stable dung. Protect the plants by a hand-glass or frame, which, if the shoots are to run on the ground, should be raised by four or more bricks, giving air freely. When danger of frost ceases, remove the light or frame. We have seen the best plants nailed and secured to a wall, as trees usually are. They bear profusely in summer and autumn, and are not subject to be injured by damp. The seeds are sown on the spot at the end of May, and one strong plant remains, being stopped once or twice at the tips of the advancing shoots, of which six are enough for each plant. It would be wise to place a large spare light or two slop ing in front till midsummer, and again early in September. Glass diminishes the direct solar power to the extent of from 8 to 12 degrees, but it wards off the primary attack of frost, which is fatal at once to these plants. If it be desirable to save seed, preserve the fruit first formed on a plant reserved for the pur pose. HORTICULTURAL MONTHLY CALENDAR. Having in almost every instance mentioned the seasons for sowing, planting, transplanting, and otherwise attending to the culture of vegetables in the kitchengarden, it would only be waste of room to repeat directions, as is usually done, in connexion with the different months. It is hoped, therefore, that the following general references to the months will be sufficient :January.-Trench and delve up all open grounds, if the weather permit; and in warm exposures, sow articles that are to be brought forward early. February.-Continue turning up the ground designed for early crops; sowing may go on a little more briskly. March. This is a particularly busy month, being, from its open and drying character, favourable for all works of preparation. Peas, beans, asparagus, onions, carrots, &c., are sown; and various articles are transplanted from frames. April. A continuance of preparing, sowing, and planting; hoeing, thinning, and clearing out of weeds, require also to be attended to. are now to be sown, early peas and young plants transplanted. cabbages and savoys require to be earthed up as high as the leaves. Remove carrots and other roots, which store away for winter use. November.-If temperate and open, a little sowing may be continued in sheltered borders; but frost usually sets in early in the month, and puts a stop to cropping operations. December During the latter end of November, and the open period of this month, the chief operations are digging, manuring, or trenching vacant ground, and attending to the preparation of composts. In frost, the labour exerted on the plants need only be protective; and the gardener usually occupies much of this period in pruning his trees, and attending to the more delicate plants in frames and sheltered borders. We have now presented a sketch of the principal vegetables grown in the kitchen gardens of England, with the modes of general treatment, and the seasons suitable for their culture. It may be necessary to add the observation, that kitchen gardening, except among skilled professional men, is still in a backward condition in all parts of the British islands; and that, except in and about London, the people generally either do not know what fine vegetables are, or very seldom see them. Much has been done by horticultural societies to promote a better knowledge on the subject, and taste is evidently improving as respects all the products of the garden; nevertheless, the bulk of the people are still far behind their continental neighbours both in the cultivation and preparation of culinary vegetables. In order to produce a sensible improvement in kitchen gardening, we should require to impart a knowledge of what vegetables can be made to perform by proper cookery-what relish can be given to a plain diet, at scarcely a farthing of more expense, merely by adding a few sprigs or slices of some highly flavoured plants. In the article COOKERY, we have attempted to throw out a few useful hints on the best means of preparing vegetables, and would here add the recommendation to all persons in a humble condition of life, that, if circumstances at all permit, they should endeavour to rent and cultivate a small garden, for the purpose of rearing at leisure hours a supply of kitchen vegetables, as well as a choice of flowers, and at least small fruit. The direc tions afforded in the preceding pages (and in the two sheets which follow) have been drawn up in a great measure for the use of this class of the people, and those in a somewhat higher sphere; and though these directions may not apply in any individual instance, they will, it is hoped, lead the mind to the true princ ples on which garden-culture is to be conducted; and by thought, diligence, and experience, each person will in a short time attain that amount of skill which will bring his operations to a successful issue. Printed and published by W. and R. CHAMBERS, Edinburyk Sold also by W. S. ORR und Co., London. CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM AND ROBERT CHAMBERS, EDITORS OF CHAMBERS'S NUMBER 74. NEW AND IMPROVED SERIES. PRICE 1d. THE FLOWER GARDEN. As the welcome messenger of spring, the snowdrop claims our first regard, and countless are the lays in which the praises of this little modest flower are sung. The contrast it presents of green and white (ever the most pleasing of contrasts to the human eye), may be one reason why mankind agree in their admiration of its simple beauties; but a far more powerful reason is the delightful association by which it is connected with the idea of returning spring. Perhaps we have thought long of the melting of the snow that impeded our noonday walk. But it vanishes at last; and there, beneath its white coverlid, lies the delicate snowdrop, so pure and pale, so true an emblem of hope, and trust, and confidence, that it might teach a lesson to the desponding, and show the useless and inactive how invaluable arc the stirrings of that energy that can work out its purpose in secret and under oppression, and be ready in the fullness of time to make that purpose manifest and complete. The snowdrop teaches also another lesson. It marks out the progress of time. We cannot behold it without feeling that another spring has come, and immediately our thoughts recur to the events which have occurred since last its fairy bells were expanded. FLOWERS are the ornament of vegetable existence, and have in all ages been cultivated by persons of leisure and taste, for the pleasure which they yield to the eye and the fancy. While generally healthful and exhilarating from being pursued in the open air, flower-culture is justly reckoned to be a pure and harmless recreation, which, by leading to the tranquil contemplation of natural beauty, and diverting the mind from gross worldly occupations, has a positively moral and therefore highly beneficial tendency. It has also the advantage of being alike open to the pursuit of high and low, the peasant and the peer, the over-toiled man of business and the industrious artisan. It may be followed with equal enjoyment by individuals of both sexes, and, as is well known, on every imaginable scale, from that of a single flower-pot or ornamental border, to the princely green-house and exquisitely varied par terre. It is of little consequence what flower comes next under consideration. A few specimens will serve the purpose of proving that these lovely productions of nature are, in their general associations, highly poetical. The primrose is one upon which we dwell with pleasure proportioned to our taste for rural scenery, and the estimate we have previously formed of the advantages of a peaceful and secluded life. In connexion with this flower, imagination pictures a thatched cottage standing on the slope of the hill, and a little woody dell, whose green banks are spangled all over with yellow stars, while a troop of rosy children are gamboling on the same bank, gathering the flowers, as we used to gather them ourselves, before the toils and struggles of mortal conflict had worn us down to what we are now, and thus presenting to the mind the combined ideas of natural enjoyment, innocence, and rural peace the more vivid, because we can remember the time when something like this was mingled with the cup of which we drank-the more touching, because we doubt whether, if such pure drops were still there, they would not to our taste have lost their sweetness. The natural grace, simplicity, and attractive colouring of flowers, have afforded endless themes to moralists and poets, and volumes have been penned to show how many associations of feeling, simple and sublime, these beauteous objects are calculated to excite. As our desire is to improve the feelings as well as to instruct the understanding, we hope to escape blame for pausing an instant over this agreeable view of the value of flower-culture, and would refer, for one of the most glowing eulogies on the subject, to the elegant work of Miss Sarah Stickney-the Poetry of Life. According The violet, while it pleases by its modest, retiring to the well-expressed sentiments of this lady, few natu- beauty, possesses the additional charm of the most ral objects are more poetical, or more calculated to exquisite of all perfumes, which, inhaled with the pure refine the taste than flowers. "From the majestic sun- and invigorating breezes of spring, always brings back flower, towering above her sisters of the garden, and in remembrance a lively conception of that delightful faithfully turning to welcome the god of day, to the season. Thus, in the language of poetry, the violetlittle bumble and well-known weed that is said to close scented gale' is synonymous with those accumulated its crimson eye before impending showers, there is and sweetly-blended gratifications which we derive scarcely one flower which may not from its loveliness, from odours, flowers, and balmy breezes; and, above its perfume, its natural situation, or its classical asso-all, from the contemplation of renovated nature, once ciation, be considered highly poetical, more bursting forth into beauty and perfection. 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 vegetables 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 is 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 gardens, apply also to flower-gardens. The soil should be rich, dry, soft, and partially improved with decomposed peat and leaf mould; the exposure should be towards the sun; a free air should be allowed to play over the 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 beneath 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. the finer kinds of flowers when in bloom, as a protec tion from creeping vermin. Besides the utensils usually employed, the flower-gardener should have a pair of small scissors to clip off decayed leaves, and some strips of mat for tying up certain drooping plants. the The greatest difference of taste prevails on the subject of disposing the various parts of a flower-plot or 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 most effective in striking the eye. If the garden is seen from a parlour window, as is often the case, the plan most 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 as will suit the extent of the ground. If the garden contain 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 author of the Florist's Manual, "than may at first appear, to plan, even upon a small scale, such a piece of ground; nor, perhaps, would any but an experienced scientific eye be aware of the difficulties to be encoun 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 borders in such a manner that, when viewed from the windows 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 still greater, that of vacancies betwixt the borders, forming small avenues, by which the whole is separated into broken parts, and the general effect lost. Another i point to be attended to is the just proportion of green turf, which, without nice observation, will be too much or too little for the colour with which it is blended and, lastly, the breadth of the flower-borders should not be greater than what will place the roots within the reach of the gardener's arm without the necessity of treading upon the soil, the mark of footsteps being a deformity wherever it appears among flowers." 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 need be added Whether all the flowers of a class-such, for instance, as violets, hyacinths, &c.-should be cultivated together, or interspersed and mingled with others, is another mal ter for taste to decide. The preferable plan seems to be to form a choice variety in borders and other spots, but also to cultivate a quantity of certain sorts in ev partments by themselves. Neill judiciously observes, on the choice of flowers for borders" The plants are arranged in mingled flower-borders, partly according to their size and partly according to their colour. The tallest are planted in the back part, those of middling 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 the formation of flower-buds, and the same result will in bloom, depends very much on the tasteful disposition follow from stunting or starving the plant. To induce of the plants in regard to colour. By intermingling flowering, the plant must be fully exposed to sun and plants which grow in succession, the beauty of the air; at a lower temperature than 50 degrees, the blooms border may be prolonged for some weeks. In a bota- cannot be expected to open; but from that to 65 degrees, nie garden, the same plant cannot be repeated in the the sap will ascend, and the buds, if duly provided with same border; but in the common flower-garden, a moisture and fresh air, will be rapidly developed. When plant, if deemed ornamental, may be often repeated freely exposed to seasonal influences, flowering plants with the best effect; nothing can be finer, for example, appear withered and nearly gone in winter; they begin than to see many plants of double scarlet lychnis, double to shoot up in spring; come to perfection in their sweet-william, or double purple jacobæa." 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. 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 ranuncu luses, my pinks, my carnations distinct, and even my beds of hollyhocks, double blue violets, and dwarf larkspurs 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 circumstances, 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 vulgar that it cannot be too loudly condemned. An error not uncommon in deciding which flowers shall be planted, is to select numbers merely for their rarity or novelty, without reference to what will be their appearance when in bloom, and which generally leads to disappointment. Unless for botanical illustration, make a choice of flowers on two principles-those which will be beautiful when in bloom, although common, and those which will bloom at the particular seasons required, to ensure a succession of variegated beauty from spring to autumn. The true amateur gardener takes a pride in improving even the commonest flowers-urging them by careful culture to the highest state of perfection as to size and brilliancy of colouring of which they are susceptible in our climate. GENERAL CHARACTER AND TREATMENT OF FLOWERS. All flowering plants belong to the division Phanogamia 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 blosBom, 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 VBOETABLE 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 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 unskilful gardeners, of trimming off the leaves of snowdrops, crocuses, and tulips, after the blooming is over, for the purpose of rendering a border or a bed neat, is very bad; and it is not much better to tie up the leaves, as is also preposterously done, for in this way they cannot be duly exposed to the air and the light. The same principle will apply to all other flowering plants. When a flowering branch or stem has been produced, and has begun to show the flower buds, it must be considered that it can only blow finely in proportion to the quantity of healthy pulp, either previously in the branch, or from time to time prepared by the leaves of that branch. Consequently, if there are two or more 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." 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 |