tum, ròseum and digitális, Potentilla nepalénsis, atrosanguínea, Russelliana and Mayiàna: Tormentilla réptans, flore pleno; this is a charming little plant for rock work: Verbascum pyramidàlis, Célsia crética, Aconitum napéllus, Hálleri and álbidum, Geum coccineum, Asclepias tuberosa, Digitàlis lùtea and the common purple and white, Lysimachia vulgàris and quadrifòlia, Prenánthes integrifolia, Monárda purpurea, Státice Gmelina, Láthyrus grandiflorus, Lychnis chalcedónica var. pleno álbo and pl. coccinea and L. grandiflora, Cimicifuga fæ`tida, Eschscholtzia califórnica, Oxalis Déppei, Lupinus polyphyllus, sweet-williams, holyhocks, pinks of all kinds, &c. The following kinds of lilies are in full bloom this month:-Lilium cándidum, longiflorum, japonicum, bulbiferum, spectábile, cóncolor: Gladiolus natalénsis and byzantium also bloom finely this month, if planted in the autumn. They are perfectly hardy.

The plants wintered in frames, and turned out into the borders as recommended, in the month of May, will now be in full bloom; such as Verbena chamædrifòlia, Mimulus ròseus, Commelina tuberosa, and cœléstis, Senecio élegans, red and white doubleflowered; Sálvia Gràhami, Calendrinia grandiflora, Pyrethrum parthenium, stocks, calceolarias, fuchsias, anagallises, petunias, schizanthuses, chrysanthemums, sweet scabiouses, &c.

Among the annuals, the candy-tuft is beautiful, when planted in large patches; the sweet-alyssum is very delicate, and forms a pretty companion to the former, and is valuable for its fragrance. The eschscholtzias will be now in full flower: we do not know of a more splendid ornament to the flower border than the E. cròcea. It is yet rare; but as it seeds freely, we hope it will become more common by another season. We have had single plants this year, which have covered a piece of ground a yard across, that were, in the middle of the day, one mass of rich orange colored blossoms. That charming little annual, the Gília tricolor, now begins to bloom: it should be in every garden.

Among the running plants, Maurándya Barclayàna Lophospérmum erubescens, Coba a scándens, Calámpelis scàbra, and the new dark nasturtium, if kept over the winter and turned out, will now flower abundantly. In large gardens a greater number can be admitted; but these are such as are desirable in choice collections.

ART. IV. On the Germination of the Nelumbium Speciosum. By J. L. R.

HAVING received from a friend a fresh nut of this splendid oriental plant, I was induced to watch the development of its germination. After remaining in a glass of pure water on my mantel for about three weeks, I perceived a wide dehiscence near its summit, and the first emission of young roots. A compost of clay, vegetable mould and sand, in nearly equal parts, was then provided, and the nut partially planted in it. The pot was then plunged in another, glazed and water-tight, and covered with river water to the depth of three or four inches. In a few days the first leaf appeared, curiously convoluted, by its ridges being rolled towards its disk. Not long after its expansion another made its appearance, and in the course of a month five have been developed in considerable vigor. The plant then seemed to make a pause for a few days, when I perceived a strong and thick rhizoma pushing downwards from the axis, and throwing out a profusion of roots about half the distance of its length; till finally a new leaf has been evolved from the extremity of this root stake.

I have noticed, in the first volume of your magazine (p. 350), that a fine plant of this species was thriving under the culture of the Hon. John Lowell. What has been the fate of the plant? Has Mr. Lowell succeeded in flowering it?

The germination of the nelumbium is interesting, on account of the seeming absence of cotyledons, and thus possessing the anomalous character of an exogenous acotyledonous plant. Much uncertainty exists respecting its true physiological development. On the outside of the base of the albumen is the embryo, enclosed in a membranous bag or sack. This, by Richard, was considered its cotyledon, and he accordingly placed the genus among the monocotyledons and Endogeneæ. De Candolle and Mirbel considered it as exogenous and dicotyledonous, regarding the sack as a peculiar membrane, and possessing, also, a twolobed embryo. From the structure of the stem, the character of its leaves, and also of its flowers and fruits, little doubt can remain that it more properly should be arranged according to the opinion of the two latter botanists.

The sacred Lotus of the Nile is the present species. According to Delile this celebrated locality of antiquity cannot boast of its present possession. In China, where it is extensively cultivated, its rhizoma and nuts afford a considerable article of food. These, served up with apricots, walnuts and ice, were offered at breakfast to the British ambassador and his suite. Some of the Japanese and Chinese deities are represented as

sitting on its broad and peltate leaves, thus distinguishing it as a sacred plant.

My plant Nelumbium speciosum var. álbum, is freely offered to any one who desires to grow this rare and splendid flower in a conservatory or proper aquarium. J. L. R. August, 1836.

ART. V. On the Cultivation and Propagation of the Pink (Dianthus), more particularly the Carnation, Picotee, and Pink. By S. WALKER.

"Jove's flower: and, if my skill is not beguiled,

He was Jove's flower when Jove was but a child."

PERMIT me, dear Sirs, through the pages of your valuable Magazine, to submit a few hints to your readers on the cultivation and propagation of some of the varieties of this beautiful class of flowers, viz. the carnation, picotee and pink. The cultivation of these plants has occupied the attention, and called forth the labor and care, of some of the great and good in ages that have passed away. Would it be asking too much of the present generation, while the school-master is abroad," to turn aside a few moments, and admire nature in " her holiday suit and Sunday clothes?" I will take it for granted, it is not; indeed, I cannot but believe a love of flowers, and a taste for cultivating them, is rapidly increasing in every section of the country: if we look to the east or to the west, to the north or to the south, we see magazines and newspapers springing up, devoted to floriculture. Such being the case, I am induced to send you the present article, although I am aware I can add but very little, with advantage, to what others have already said on the cultivation of these plants, or bring any thing new before your readers; yet I shall endeavor to select and lay before them, in a condensed form, the directions and opinions of others, and a few general remarks of my own, on the successful cultivation of the pink, picotee and carnation.

The Carnation. Modern florists value this plant highly, and distinguish it into four classes. First, flakes, of two colors only; the ground white, with a large stripe of scarlet, crimson or other color, going quite through the petals. Second, bizarres (signi

fying odd, irregular); with flowers striped or variegated with three or four different colors, with irregular stripes or spots. Third, picotees, piquettes, or piquetées; edge fringed, usually having a white ground, with spots or small stripes of scarlet, red, purple, or other colors. To enumerate the varieties would be useless, says Green, as they are not permanent, and every country producing new flowers almost every year, which, though at first raising they may be greatly valued, in two or three years become so common as to be of little worth, especially if they prove defective of any one good property, and are turned out to make room for new sorts. I will therefore refer my readers to the lists of the florists and nurserymen, who import them or raise them from seed, who have a great variety under pompous names. The following are what the florists call the good properties of a carnation. The flower-stem should be strong, and able to support the weight of the flower in an erect position. The petals should be long, broad, and stiff, and easy to expand, or, as the florists term it, should make free flowers; the outer circle of petals should turn off gracefully, in an horizontal direction, and should be sufficiently strong to support the inner petals, which should diminish in size as they approach the centre. The petals should lie over each other in such a manner, as that their beauties can meet the eye at once; the middle of the flower should not advance too high above the other parts, and the edges should be entire, without fringe, notch, or indenture; the color should be bright and equally marked all over the flower; the flower, when blown, should be very full of petals, and the outside perfectly round; the stem should not only be strong, but straight, not less than thirty, nor more than forty-five inches high; the flower should not be less than three inches in diameter, and the petals well formed-neither so many as to appear crowded, nor so few as to appear thin; the lower or outer circle of petals, commonly called the guard-leaves, should be substantial, and rise perpendicularly about half an inch above the calyx; the calyx should be at least an inch in length, and sufficiently strong at the top to keep the bases of the petals in a close and circular body,

Propagation and Culture of the Carnation.-Having obtained a quantity of good seeds, prepare a proportionable number of pots or boxes, filled with soil mixed with rotten cow-dung, &c., incorporated well together; then sow the seed and cover them with about a quarter of an inch of the same compost, sifted finely; place the pots or boxes in an airy part of the garden; keep the soil moist, and shade them from the mid-day sun and heavy rains. The time for sowing the seed is about the first of May; in about twenty days the plants will come up, and, if kept clear from weeds and duly watered, they will be fit for transplanting about the first of August, at which time prepare some beds of

the same compost as they were sown in, in an open, airy situation; plant thern in rows, about ten inches apart in the row, and twelve inches from row to row; during the winter, cover the plants with pine boughs, or any other light covering;-by these means they will generally flower the following summer. When they begin to shoot up their stalks to flower, they ought to be supported by sticks, and attentively looked after as soon as they begin to blow, to ascertain which of them promise to be good. flowers; pull up all single and ill colored flowers, to allow the others more air and room; propagate the good ones by layers.

To Propagate by Layers.-After you have made choice of such shoots as you intend to propagate, and have loosened the soil round the plant, and, if necessary, raised it with fresh soil, that it may be level with the shoot intended to be laid down, strip off the leaves from the lower part of the shoot, and cut off the top of the leaves; make choice of a strong joint, the third or fourth from the crown of the shoot; then with a sharp knife make a slip close below the joint, about three fourths through the shoot, from the joint upwards; remove the swelling part of the joint where the slit is made, so that the part slit may be shaped like a tongue; for if the outer skin be left on, it will prevent their pushing out roots; then make a hole in the earth with your finger, just where the tongue in the shoot is to come; put into the hole about a tea-spoon full of silt, or fine sand, from the river; then with your finger and thumb gently bend the shoot into the earth, observing to keep the top as upright as possible, that the slit may be open; and, having provided forked sticks for the purpose, thrust one of them into the ground so that the forked part may take hold of the layer, in order to keep it down in its proper place; then cover the shank of the layer with soil, giving it a gentle watering, which should be repeated as often as it is necessary to promote their taking root. They will have taken root in about five or six weeks; cut them off from the parent plant, leaving about an inch of the stalk below the incision attached, and plant them in pots or beds, or in the borders, as you intend to bloom them. The soil suitable for the carnation and pink is rich maiden loam, to which add one third part of well rotted cow dung, and about one sixth part of drift sand from the side of the river, or other water courses; to this add a small quantity of air-slacked lime, say a quart to a barrow full, and about double the quantity of wood ashes; mix these well together several times in the autumn and spring, and use it the second season; protect your compost with boards from the drenching rains and the mid-summer sun.

To Propagate by Pipings.-The piping of the carnation is not attended with as much success as the piping of the pink. Our warm weather, during the months of July and August, is much