"The plants were removed at the end of February from the seed-bed, they were planted in rows nine inches apart each way; the soil was light, but as rich as richness could make it. Two plants of maculata and one of insignis,, or the spotted and blue; thus one-third of the bed was of the blue sort, and two-thirds of the light, with purple spots.

The flowers colour were as regularly disposed all over the bed as if they were set by hand; a bed with equal numbers of the two was gay, of couse, but appeared as nothing to the striking effect of the former mixture. A less number of the blue does not answer at all. I hope every one who delights in the simple combinations that can be produced by very simple flowers, will try a bed of these two pretty annuals next spring; the seeds of both may be sown any day in August. Those that I saw were from self-sown seeds last July, but if we had had. a hard winter they must have perished, as they were strong plants by the end of October." In planting beds of annuals, the distances between each plant depend on its habit of growth; thus while nine inches are recommended above as the proper distance between the Nemophilas, three inches are sufficient for Lobelia ramosa, six inches for Lobelia gracilis and San-vitalia procumbens, four inches for Clarkia pulchella, while the pretty little Saponaria Calabrica may be planted, nine inches apart, and Convolvulus minor and Eschscholtzia, ten. Another branch of the culture of flowers that has a charm about it, felt alike by gardeners and amateurs, is striking cuttings. The pleasure of success is greater than in merely seeing seeds springing up, the plants are more permanent possessions, and we feel more as if our own skill had brought about the successful result. Although the gentle warmth of a hotbed is essential to the striking root of many cuttings, and an advantage to all, both in point of security and celerity, yet there are many of our favourites that will take root in the open border, or under a handglass; so that, with a little care and attention to keeping the cuttings moist and partly shaded, this pleasant part of gardening may be enjoyed by those who have neither hotbeds nor gardeners to assist them.

In preparing a bed for cuttings, the soil should be made fine and mixed with sand, gently and thoroughly watered before the cuttings are put in. The north side of a wall is a good situation for such a bed, though, if proper shade can be secured, the warmth of a south border accelerates the rooting. Pansies, pinks, roses, rockets, snapdragons, fuschias, indeed almost all the common shrubby and herbaceous plants, may be thus propagated, even by unskilful hands : though many die, the survivors are all the more prized. Let no amateur get discouraged because every cutting a gardener puts in lives, while time after time damp, or dryness, or worms, or neglect, or too much care, kill off almost all his little plants - try again is our advice. Slips or cuttings taken from near the root of a plant are most easily rooted, generally they should have ripened wood at the base; if cut off just below a joint, they root more quickly than when slipped off with a little bit called a heel adhering to them, but the latter are more sure of success. If cuttings are planted in flower-pots, place them round the sides, so as to touch the pot; they root more surely thus than if planted in the centre; and keep all frames, glasses, and cutting-pots clean and free from mould. I remember trying successfully an experiment I read of: the cuttings were of ten roses, and they were struck in water, which was kept warm by the pot being plunged in a hot bed. The hole in the flower-pot was stopped up by a piece of cork, the top was covered with stout brown paper, tied down, a row of holes large enough to admit the ends of the cuttings being previously made all round the paper; a larger hole in the centre admitted of water being poured into the flower-pot when the first supply sunk low. The cuttings rooted in about ten days, if I remember rightly, and were then planted in small pots, and kept moist and shady for a few days, till they were accustomed to draw their nourishment from the more solid soil. I remember also that the gardener smiled contemptuously when the flower-pot was placed in his hotbed; but if my readers wish to enjoy the garden and the work in it, they must learn to bear with equanimity the quiet contempt with which their little experiments will frequently be treated by the initiated : if the experiments succeed, the triumph is all the greater - if they fail, keep your own counsel.

It is often against the will of the gardener that many an old-fashioned plant is left growing, or that some are allowed to spread out into large clumps; but most people who love a garden and flowers, without being florists, will greatly prefer having plenty of common flowers, and large masses of them, to having a few rarities, however finely grown, which they dare not pull, and can scarcely consider as their own at all. I like the old-fashioned plan of having what used to be called a back border; boxwood is certainly the best and triggest for the front, but all along the back of the border I like to see a thick row of primroses or double daisies, forming quite a wreath of flowers; by placing them there, more room is left in the borders for other flowers, and they will bloom and look gay for many years without being lifted and separated, though that process requires to be submitted to occasionally. Fill up the border with common roses - the old cabbage, the white, the damask, - these old friends used to grow and flower without all the care the new favourites get; keep pretty large clumps of Canterbury bells, columbines, snapdragons, foxgloves, pinks, stove carnations and pansies, and with a judicious mixture of beds of annuals, the borders will be always gay and. full. All the varieties of campanulas are pretty, from the old tall Canterbury bells down to the pretty little harebell, Campanula pumila. They are easily propagated by dividing the roots, indeed, rather too easily sometimes, for they are apt to run over the borders; and there is one species which is as difficult to get rid of when once it has established itself as either the white bindweed or the rank bishopweed. I have seen a very pretty back border made with alternate plants of the blue and white Campanula pumila; and Campanula Carpatica and alba are recommended for beds and edgings. The seeds are small, and should be only slightly covered with soil; the plants will not flower till the second year, except of course those which are annuals, or those which are sown early and raised on a slight hotbed. One objection to the plan of growing plants in beds being the empty look such have in early spring, or even when newly planted; it might be an improvement, I think, if something of a permanent border were planted round these beds, either of flowers that bloom early, such as crocuses, snowdrops, or winter aconite, or of some low-growing plant that, even when out of flower, would remain as a green edging. This is a matter of taste, as I believe many people dislike any mingling of different kinds of flowers in beds; but to those who like to have always something coming into blossom, and who have a lingering love for the old-fashioned mixed border, this plan might be agreeable. The edging should, if possible, flower at a different season from the plants bedded out, and be of a compact growth; double daisies, early-flowering heath, Phlox frondosa, Saxifraga hypnoides or oppositifolia, gentians, or stonecrops, might all be used advantageously in this way, as these would leave their foliage when the flowers faded, while in those beds where snowdrops and crocuses made the early edging, their places would have to be filled up by early-sown dwarf annuals, such as Silene pendula or Virginian stock.