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Rosy Clarkia

Clarkia pulchella REMINDERS of David Douglas are plentiful in the garden, and more especially amongst the hardy annuals that are collectively described as "Californian." The favourite annual here figured was discovered by Mr. Lewis on the Kooskoosky and Clarke rivers in North America, but the discovery only resulted in placing it in the herbarium, and from there it obtained a place in books. For the embellishment of our gardens by this beauty we are indebted to Douglas, who found it in plenty in dry, open, sandy soils, near streams, from the great falls of the Columbia on the north-west coast of America to the Rocky Mountains. He sent seeds to the Horticultural Society, and thus secured its diffusion, to the advantage of all the lovers of a flowery garden. It is an interesting plant, with flowers of singular constructions. In their simplest form they are four-parted, the petals boldly three-lobed, the stigma not less boldly four-lobed agreeably with the number of sepals and petals, the stamens eight in number, four of which are sterile, and thus in this particular the fourfold arrangement is undisturbed. Dr. Lindley, in describing the family of Onagrads to which the Clarkia belongs, says the number 4 prevails through every one of the floral organs. In the Circaea or enchanter's nightshade the number is halved, there being but two sepals, petals, &c., and in Lopezia, a near relative of the last-named plant, the customary number seems to be still further interfered with, for that genus shows but one stamen; in reality, however, there are two stamens, one of them perfect and bearing an anther, the other sterile and in the form of a spoon-shaped petal. Although the petals are in general of a large size and in a high state of development, yet there is a tendency among the species to lose them; I have seen an entire plant of Clarkia pulchella with every flower apetalous-that is, without petals. One species, Clarkia Skinneri, is always so. Amateurs, generally speaking, are not sufficiently acquainted with hardy annuals. They sow the seed in spring, and in due time see the flowers, and perhaps suffer a shadow of disappointment. Or if quite satisfied, perhaps they have no idea of the difference between the flowers they have and the flowers they might have by a scientific mode of procedure. It may be assumed that they sow the seed late, so that the plants are hurried into flower before they have had time to make a deep root-hold. It may further be assumed that they sow the seed too thickly, and do not thin out the plants with sufficient courage, the result in this case being that a hurried, crowded, weakened plant falls far short of what, under happier conditions, it might and would be. Spring sowing will do very well, but February and March are the proper months for the operation. If the seed does not come up quickly, it is no matter. It will not perish; it will move in its own time, and the time depends on the temperature of the ground. When the temperature rises to the proper figure, the seed will sprout and will have the longest season possible for spring-sown seed to make a strong plant and do its duty. But the life of the business consists in severe thinning. In this operation the amateur is often timid, and will leave on the ground a crowd of plants that will simply starve one another, and make in the end but a poor show. For every particular annual we will say there is a particular distance, say four, six, eight, or even twelve inches. But the plant itself will tell you all about it. Thin the seedlings, put them in the first instance three or four inches apart. The result will be a more vigorous growth and a tendency to spread. Now pull out a plant here and a plant there where there happens to be a little crowding, observing as a rule that no two plants should overlap one another. By persevering in this way you reach the true figure. Mere thinning in a destructive spirit will, of course, not make a gay garden. You want rich clumps, and you must hit the nice point where each plant has light and air and there are no great gaps between them. The Clarkias on good soil will do well at six inches apart. But spring sowing is not the best way to secure a bloom of these hardy annuals. The proper time to sow is autumn, not earlier than August and not later than September. In late cold districts the first week in August will be none too soon; in warmer places the sowing may be deferred to the end of September. In the neighborhood of London the last week of August is the best time. Sow on a well-drained bed of poor sandy soil in a quite open position sheltered from the north, and thin as soon as the plants appear, leaving them about two inches apart. In the month of February, when mild weather is prevailing, carefully transplant to the place where the plants are to flower, having first prepared the ground, for it will be a kind of execution to stick them into stubborn pasty stuff that has been in no way ameliorated for the purpose.