H O K T I C U L T U It E [FLOWERS. amongst bulbs the crocus and snowdrop. Later on, the spring garden department is a scene of great attraction ; and some of the gardens of this character, as those of Cliveden and Belvoir, are among the most fascinating examples of horticultural art. [.awns. 29. Launis. In the formation of lawns the ground must bo regularly broken up so that it may settle down evenly, any deep excavations that may have to be filled in being very carefully rammed down to prevent subsequent settlement. The ground must also be thoroughly cleared of the roots of all coarse perennial weeds, and be worked to a fine tilth ready for turfing or sowing. The more expeditious method is of course to lay down turf, which should be free from weeds, and is cut usually in strips of 1 foot i. ide, 3 feet long, and about an inch in thickness. This must be laid very evenly and compactly, and should ^^ then be beaten down firmly *j with the implement called a **ft turf-beater (fig. 8 G). When FIG. 86. Turf-Beater, there is a large space to cover, it is much the cheaper plan to sow the lawn with grass-seeds, and equally effective, though the sward takes longer to thicken. It is of the utmost importance that a good selection of grasses be made, and that pure seeds should be obtained. The following sorts can be recommended, the quantities given being those for sowing an acre of ground : Cynosurus cristatus Crested Dog s-tnil 6 ft Festuea duriuscula Hard Fescue 3 ft Festuca ovina Sheep s Fescue 3 It) Lolium perenne tenue 18 Ib Poa nemoralis sempervirens Evergreen Meadow-grass 3 ft Poa trivialis Trivial Meadow-grass 3 ft Trisetum flavescens Yellow Oat -grass 2 ft Trifolium repens Dutch Clover 6 ft The seeds should be thoroughly mixed, and very evenly sown, after which the surface should be raked over to bury them, and then rolled down while dry so as to finish it off smooth and level. When thus sown, lawns require to be promptly weeded. During the growing season established lawns should be mown at least once a week. They should be occasionally rolled, and towards autumn they require frequent sweepings to remove worm-casts. Hardy 30. HARDY ANNUALS. Annual plants are those which grow up animals, from seed, flower, ripen seed, and die in the course of one season one year. They are useful in the mixed garden, for though in some cases they are of short duration, many of them are possessed of much beauty of hue and elegance of form. Annuals may be divided into three classes : the Juirdy, which are sown at once in the ground they are to occupy ; the half-hardy, which succeed best when aided at first by a slight hot bed, and then transplanted into the open air; and the tender, which are kept in pots, and treated as greenhouse or stove plants, to which departments they properly belong. Some of the more popular annuals, hardy and hall-hardy, have been very much varied as regards habit and the colour of the flowers, and purchases may be made in the seed shops of such things as China asters, stocks, Chinese and Indian pinks, larkspurs, phloxes, and others, amongst which some of the most beautiful of the summer flowers may be found. The hardy annuals may be sown in the open ground during the latter part of March or beginning of April, as the season may determine, for the weather should be dry and open, and the soil in a free-working condition before sowing is attempted. In favourable situations and seasons some of the very hardiest, as Silene pendula, Saponaria, Nemophila, Gilia, &c., may be sown in September or October, and transplanted to the beds or borders for very early spring flowering. Those sown in spring begin to flower about June. The patches, if left to flower where they are sown, should be thinned out while young, to give them space for proper development. It is from having ample room that pricked out transplanted seedlings often make the finest plants. The soil should be rich and light. ass em The half-hardy scries are best sown in pots or pans under gl in mild heat, in order to accelerate germination. Those of th which are in danger of becoming leggy should be speedily removed to a cooler frame and placed near the glass, the young plants being pricked off into fresh soil, in other pots or pans or boxes, as may seem best in each case. All the plants must be hardened oil gradu ally during the mouth of April, and may generally be planted out some time in May, earlier or later according to the season. The class of tender annuals, being chiefly grown for greenhouse decoration, should be treated much the same as soft-wooded plants, being sown in spring, and grown on rapidly in brisk heat, near the glass, and finally hardened oil to stand in the greenhouse when in flower. We add a select list of some of the more distinct annuals desir able for general cultivation as decorative plants, and shall then mention a few of the most popular kinds separately : Acroclinium roseum : half-hardy, 1 ft., rose-pink or white ; everlasting. Agrostis puluhella : hardy, in.; a most graceful grass for bouquets. Amberboa moschata atropurpurea (Sweet Sultan) : hardy, li ft., purple ; musk-scented. Uartonia aurea : hardy, 2 ft., gulden yellow ; showy and free. Brachycome iberidifolia : half-hardy, 1 ft., blue or white with dark disk. Calendula otlieiiiiilis Meteor : hardy, 1 ft., orange striped with yellow. Calliopsia bieolor (tinetoria) : hardy, 2 to 3 ft., yellow and chestnut-brown. Calliopsis Drummoudii : hardy, 1 to 2 ft., golden yellow with red disk. Campanula Loreyi : hardy, 1 ft., purplish-lilac or white. Centaurea Oyamis : hardy, 3 ft., blue, purple, pink, or white ; showy. Clarkia pulchellu : hardy, lj ft., rosy-purple ; some varieties very handsome. Colllnsla bieolor : hardy, li ft., white and purple ; pretty. Collinsia verua : hardy, 1 ft., white and azure ; sow as soon as ripe. Convolvulus tricolor atroviolacea : hardy, 1 ft., white, blue, and yellow. This is the Convolvulus minor of gardens. Erysimum Perofl skianum : hardy, 2 ft., deep orange ; in erect racemes. Eachscholtzla ealifornica : hardy, 1 ft., yellow with saffron eye. Eschscholtzla crocea flore-pleno : hardy, ft., orange yellow; double. Kutoca viscida : hardy, 2 ft., bright blue with white hairy centre. (iaillardia Drummoiulii (picta): half-hardy, 1^ ft., crimson, yellow margin. Gilia iichillcivfoliii : hardy, 2 ft., deep blue ; in large globose heads. Godetia Lindleyana : hardy, 2 to 3 ft., rose-purple, with crimson spots. Godetia Whitney i : hardy, 1 ft., rosy-red, with crimson spots. The variety Lady Albemarle is wholly crimson, and very handsome. Gypsophila elegaus : hardy, 1 j ft., pale rose ; branched, very graceful. llelianthus cucumerifoliua : hardy, 3 to 4 ft., golden yellow, black disk ; branching, free, and bold without coarseness. llelichrysum bracteatum : half-hardy, 2 ft.; the incurved crimson, rose, and other forms very handsome. Hibiscus Trionum (ufricaims) : hardy, 1J ft., cream colour, black centre. Iberis umbellata (Candytuft): hardy, 1 ft., white, rose, purple, crimson. Some new dwarf white and flesh-coloured varieties are very handsome. Kaulfussia amelloides : hardy, 1 ft., blue or rose ; the var. kcrmesina is deep crimson. Koniga maritima (Sweet Alyssum) : hardy, 1 ft., white ; fragrant, compact. Lavatera trimestris: hardy, 3 ft., pale rose showy malvaceous flowers. Leptosiphon densiflorus : hardy in light soil, 1 ft., purplish or rosy-lilac. Leptosiphon roseus : hardy in light soil, 6 in., delicate rose ; flue in masses. Linaria bipartita splendida : hardy, 1 ft., deep purple. Linum granditlorum : hardy, 1 ft., splendid crimson var. roseum is pink. Lupinus luteus : hardy 2 ft. , bright yellow, fragrant. Lupinus mutabilis Cruckshauksii : hardy, 4 ft., blue and yellow; changeable. Lupinus nanus : hardy, 1 ft., bluish-purple; abundant flowering. Malcolmia maritima (Virginian Stock) : hardy, (i in., lilac, rose, or white. Malope trih da : hardy, 3 ft., rich glossy purplish-crimson ; showy. Matthiola grouca (Wallflower-lvd. Stock) : hardy, 1 ft., various as in Stock. ilesembryauthenunn tricolor: half-hardy, 3 in., pink and crimson, with dark centre. ilimulus cuprous : half-hardy, 6 in., coppery red, varying considerably. Mimulus luteus tigrinus : half-hardy, 1 ft., yellow spotted with red ; var. duplex has hose-in-hose flowers. Mirabilis .lalapa : half-hardy, 3 ft., various colours ; flowers evening-scented. Nemesia floribunda : hardy, 1 ft., white and yellow ; pretty and compact. Nemophila insignis : hardy, in., azure blue with white centre. Nemophila maculata : hardy, 6 in., white with violet spots at the edge Nigella hispauica : hardy, li ft, pale blue, white, or dark purple. (Knothera odorata: hardy, 2" to 3ft., yellow ; fragrant. Omphalodes linifolia (Venus s Navelwort) : hardy, 1 ft., white. 1 apaver Rhccas flore-pleuo : hardy, 2 ft., scarlet and other colours ; showy. Papaver somniferum flore-pleno : hardy, 3 ft., white, lilac, rose, <fcc.; petals sometimes fringed. Petunia violacea hybrida : half-hardy, 1 j ft., various colours ; sow in heat. I harbitis hispida : hardy, 6 ft., various; the many-coloured twining Con volvulus major. Platystemon californicus : hardy, 1 ft., sulphur yellow ; neat and distinct. Portulaca spleudens : half-hardy, 6 hi., crimson, rose, yellow, white, itc. single and double ; splendid prostrate plants for sunny rockwork. Pyrethrum I arthenium aureum : half-hardy, 1 ft. ; grown for its golden foliage, and much used for bedding. Keseda odorata (Mignonette) : hardy, 1 ft., greenish, but exquisitely frag rant ; there are some choice new sorts. Khodanthe maculata : half-hardy, 1 ft., rosy-pink or white ; larger flower- heads than the next. Jihodanthe Manglesii : half-hardy, 1 ft., rosy-pink ; a drooping everlasting. Salpiglossis sinuata : half-hardy, 2 to 3ft., yellow, purple, crimson, <fec.; much varied and beautifully veined. Sanvitalia procumbena flore-pleno : half-hardy, C in., golden yellow ; pro cumbent. Saponaria calabrica : hardy, 6 to 8 in., bright rose pink or white ; continu ous blooming, compact-growing. , Schizanthua pinnatus : hardy, 1 to 2 ft., purple-lilac, prettily blotched ; curiously lobed flowers. Schizopetalou Walkeri : hardy, 1 ft , white, sweet-scented at night ; curi ously fringed petals. Senecio elegaus: half-hardy, 1J ft., white, rose, or purple; the various double forms are showy. Silene pendula : hardy, 1 ft., bright rose pink ; very showy in masses ; var. compacta forms close dense tufts. Silene Pseudo-Atocion : hardy, 1 ft., rose pink; free-flowering.
Specularia Speculum : hardy, in., reddish-violet; free-flowering.
