, and, as I have never been able to gather any seed, and
the propagation has to be carried out by root division, there requires
to be a careful manipulation of these parts, for not only do they split
and break with the least strain, but when so mutilated they are very
liable to rot. I have found it by far the better plan to divide this
plant after it has begun to grow in March or April, when its fine
shining black shoots, which resemble horse hairs in appearance, are
about 1/2in. high. Slugs are fond of this plant; a dressing once a week of
sand and soot, when it begins to grow, will keep them off.

Flowering period, July and August.

Centaurea Montana.

MOUNTAIN KNAPWEED; _Nat. Ord._ COMPOSITAE.

This is an "old-fashioned" and favourite flower. Every one must be
familiar with its thistle-like formed flowers; it is sometimes called
the large or perennial Cornflower and also the Large Bluebottle. The
blue variety has been grown in English gardens since 1596. There are now
white and pink coloured varieties, all rampant growers, very hardy and
perennial. They are in every way superior to the annual kind, which is
so largely grown, the flowers being more than twice the size, and
produced two months earlier; the blooming period is maintained until
late autumn.

The flowers, as before hinted, are thistle-shaped; the pericline or knob
just under the florets is cone-shaped, covered with evenly set and
pointed scales, green, edged with a brown margin, set round with short
bristle-like teeth. The florets of the outer ring are 11/2in. long,
tubular half their length, the wider portion being five to seven cut;
the centre florets are short and irregular, richly tinted with pink at
their bases; the whole flower or ray, when expanded, is 3in. across.
They are produced on stems over 2ft. long and of a somewhat procumbent
habit, angular and branched near the tops; the leaves are 3in. to 6in.
long, lance-shaped, entire and decurrent, giving the stems a winged
appearance. They are of a greyish colour--nappy--whence the name
Knapweed.

This vigorous species, with its white and pink varieties, may be grown
in any kind of soil. It requires plenty of room; a two-year-old plant
will form a specimen a yard in diameter under favourable conditions. The
effect is good when all the three colours are grown near each other in
bold pieces. They yield an unfailing supply of flowers, which are of a
very useful type; in fact, the more they