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"Bradshaw Gardens, Middleton, near Manchester.

"I am sorry to say I have not seen a first-rate bloom of Polyanthus this year; and to send an ordinary bloom would be of no use. The severity of the last winter is partly the cause of them not doing well. In Auriculas the bloom has been fine, but nothing striking in the newer varieties; and, upon the whole, I think it will be better to defer figuring any till next season, as I should be sorry to send anything commonplace for the Florist. J. HOLLAND."

A very candid and honest reply, all will acknowledge; and we were pleased to receive it; for superior flowers we want, and none other. Now our readers may observe advertisements of the very best this, that, and the other. Let them take our advice, and buy nothing of the kind, unless they find in our pages a report of their excellence. Our work has a large circulation; we have made arrangements for the display and examination of all flowers, whether new or going forth to the public; we have a good staff of observers and judges; and we shall do all we possibly can to inform our friends what they may safely purchase. Many look to the Florist and Garden Miscellany for such information; and they do wisely, for they know it can be fully relied upon. If raisers and dealers do not choose to send their articles to us for examination, we say unhesitatingly to our subscribers, Do not buy them. We certainly shall figure nothing we do not see. Our artist is present at the Worton Cottage meetings to take portraits of any thing very striking; and if interested parties lose so favourable an opportunity for making their productions known, the fault is theirs alone. Even if they are not sufficiently superior to be figured, they will be reported upon in a paper having the largest circulation of any gardening periodical, as well as in our own pages.

THE CULTURE OF CHOROZEMAS.

BY MR. M'ARDELL, FOREMAN, CASTLE-HILL GARDENS.

THE Chorozema is generally considered difficult to cultivate; but it can be grown well by pursuing the following method. The soil should be a sandy peat, well broken with the spade, but not sifted. The best time for potting is March or April. Care must be taken not to over-pot the plants, or injure the roots while potting; the soil must be made very firm and compact about the roots, and the pots well drained; then they should be placed in the greenhouse in an airy situation, and not crowded among other plants. It is also well to keep them in the greenhouse during summer; but in hot weather they should be shaded for two or three hours each day during sunshine. They require a reasonable supply of water; that is, they must not be sodden, nor left too dry. They may be propagated in the following manner: the cuttings should be taken off and carefully prepared while the wood is young; take off the bottom

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leaves with a sharp knife, and make a clear cut just through the joint; the cutting-pot should be drained, and then filled to within an inch of the top with the soil above mentioned; on the top of this put a layer of white sand, into which put the cuttings, making a hole for their reception with a small stick. When the pot is full, give them a little water with a fine rose; after which, place a clean glass over them in this state they may be removed to the propagating house, where the temperature should be 70°. They should be shaded from the sun, which can be done by placing a sheet of coarse paper over the glasses. As soon as the cuttings are rooted, which may be known by their appearance of growth, they must be potted off; but care must be taken not to injure the roots, and they must be shaded again for a week or ten days, until they make fresh ones; they must then be gradually hardened, and placed with the old plants in the greenhouse.

ON FLORAL TASTES AND THEIR RESULTS.

NO. IV.

THAT a certain refinement results from intercourse with works of art is manifest to the most cursory observer of the habits of mankind. When the Roman poet affirmed that "the diligent study of the liberal arts softens manners, and prevents them from becoming brutal," he merely collected into an aphorism the constant experience of all ages. The arts of poetry and painting, and sculpture and architecture, when understood by a people, have always raised them from barbarism; and if they have not purified the hearts of their votaries, they have at least refined their manners. Those who read history rightly will always recognise those minor instruments of civilisation to which we refer, which, if insufficient to give to man his highest polish, yet grind away the ruder angularities of that piece of breathing and thinking statuary.

If the contemplation of beautiful forms when wrought out by human skill, and consequently chargeable with human imperfections, produces effects so beneficial, the refining influence of Floriculture cannot be doubtful, since it has to do with so much that is surpassingly lovely, executed in a manner too elaborate for the imitation of the most skilful human artificer. Let a love of flowers be possessed, and we cannot conceive of the manners being brutal, especially when that love extends to all the interesting processes of their growth, from the sowing the seed to the full development of the lustrous, symmetrical, and scented form which at length rewards our labour. Most amateurs must have been sensible on various occasions of a softening and refining influence resulting from their pursuit, as they have looked, for instance, on a bed of Ranunculuses glowing in their oriental dyes in the morning sun, or caught the fragrance of a parterre of Pinks whose delicate lacings are spangled with the early dew. Irascible emotions are calmed; discontent is felt to be out of place; censoriousness becomes charitable, at least for a season, in such cir

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cumstances, as though the silent beauty of the objects contemplated were a divinity in whose presence such feelings are interdicted. the harp of the minstrel of Bethlehem could tame the savage breast of the forsaken king, so the mute eloquence of flowers has often purged the heart of "the perilous stuff" engendered by selfish and mere worldly pursuits.

If the sentiments we have expressed are founded in truth, or even if they admit of some deduction, as being a little overstrained and fanciful, then the extension of floral tastes must be hailed by every lover of his country and of mankind, as combining with other influences to extend that social and public melioration which all good men seek. There is no class of men who can be considered independent of any of the refining causes which divine Providence has supplied, and therefore to a certain extent the most cultivated and most pious may derive an additional finish from the love of flowers. How important, therefore, is the diffusion of such a taste among the masses of mankind, whose characters have fewer advantages and greater temptations! Take two labouring men, one fond of gardening, and the other not, and although their position in life may be equal, the latter will in many respects be inferior to the former. We speak generally, of course, for there is no rule without exceptions. What is thus propounded as a theory we have found to be proved by actual instances brought under our notice again and again. In a horticultural society which had much to do with cottagers, the exhibitors were generally above the average range of their class in sobriety, frugality, and civility; and we believe this is always the case where opportunities of cultivating a garden are embraced by some, and neglected by others.

We therefore hail the increase of a taste for gardening, whether exhibited by actual garden operations or garden literature, as a sign of advancing intelligence and civilisation. Those institutions which contemplate the rewarding the most industrious or the most skilful cultivator, may exert an immense influence on the working classes, by proposing to them a fair proportion of prizes. It is pleasing to follow, in fancy, the agricultural labourer, or the mechanic, from the time when the list of prizes first comes into his hands, until the day of exhibition, when his laudable ambition is gratified by his becoming a successful competitor. There is first a careful survey of the various items, to ascertain in what his strength lies; then the concentration of his powers on the Pansies or Polyanthuses, the Carnations or Roses, as the case may be. He has no time for the scenes of low company and dissipation, for his flower-bed demands every spare moment. The pleasing excitement extends to his family, and the young child learns to respect the growing plants which the father tends so carefully, and would not hurt them for the world. At length the flowers expand, the show-day arrives, and the attainment of a prize diffuses great joy through the little household. Or if he should fail, he knows that another and another trial is before him, and by noticing the causes of his rival's success becomes more wary and attentive for the future. HENRY BURgess.

WATERPROOF COVERING FOR FRAMES, &c.

YOUR correspondent "Alpha" deserves credit for his endeavours to substitute a neat for a cumbrous article, in the employment of oiled calico instead of bast matting. I do not think it would resist quite so much cold; but probably the difference of protection (and protection is now out of fashion) would not be great, and certainly, in every other respect, it has greatly the advantage. And as he hopes to improve his composition, I would suggest to him one I have used about ten years, which is light in weight, of a lemon colour, and dries quickly without much disagreeable smell:

Well-boiled linseed-oil, one quart;

Soft soap, one ounce.

It will dry more quickly if three pints of oil are used to the ounce of soap, but I think the fabric is more likely to tear at the creases, and therefore I prefer the above proportions. When I first used it, I put it on in the way " Alpha" mentions; but I have since, where practicable, adopted the simpler plan of soaking the calico in the mixture and wringing it out, beginning at one end, and drawing it gradually through a small pancheon; by which method a large carriage-cloth is finished in a quarter of an hour, and less oil is used. It should be remembered that the cloth must be made into whatever form it is to have before using the composition, otherwise it will not be watertight at the seams, and therefore if nailed to a frame, the brush must be used.

I use it somewhat extensively, and find it answers many purposes well, and, where not exposed much to the sun, will last many years. I have a conducting tube of it to carry water to the other end of my garden.

Glass is now so cheap that no one need take this for a substitute ; nevertheless I use a pent-house covering of this prepared calico to strike my Pelargonium and other cuttings, and have no reason to complain of the result. Even my Crusaders were trusted to it last season, and so will my Gipsy Brides be this; probably, also, my Incomparables next.

Sailors occasionally employ it for waterproofing jackets, caps, leggings, bags, and other boating gear; but the composition for such purposes should be,

Unboiled linseed-oil, one quart ;
Soft soap, one ounce :

which takes longer drying; and when dry, the articles should be painted lightly over with highly boiled oil, to give them a shining appearance without impairing their pliability.

Now is the time to think of preparing these things.

IOTA.

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"So you're come at last, and, as usual, at the last minute. Have I your ticket? Of course I have. Strange, that you cannot as easily be a few minutes before time, so as to avoid all this drive and hurry. Jump into the carriage, for the train moves; and now, where's our lunch? Not got any?" "No; for we are not allowed to eat in the gardens, so we must e'en visit mine host' of the Star and Garter, and assault his larder when we come out. There is a biscuit for you, such as an old sailor like yourself would have gone to the masthead for more than once in your life, I venture to say." "You're right; and some day, as you remind me of the salt water, perhaps when you are safe moored in that country-box of yours, and we are seated together in the pleasant arbour overlooking the hills, with the stream flowing through the valley below, I may spin you a yarn or two, and shew how a love of horticulture never forsook me, though for months together, on the trackless ocean, I saw nought but "The perilous waters-with the mariners a fellow-mariner.'

How bright and rains we have had! a stopping train!

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cheerful every thing looks, after the pleasant But what a pace we have been going at for

Hurry, hurry, we are gone;

With whizzing speed we gallop on;
Steam and engine pant and blow,
Spurning the sparks and dust below.
Now right and left on either hand
We see with awe and wonder,
How vanish corner, hedge, and land-
Hark, how the bridges thunder!"

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