One of the best additions made to our hardy herbaceous border-flowers during the past few years is the fine spotted varieties of Digitalis purpurea, sent out three years ago by Messrs Ivery & Son, Dorking. I saw a collection of spikes, exhibited by this well-known nursery firm, at one of the meetings of the Royal Horticultural Society at South Kensington; and so fine were they, that they attracted crowds of admirers about them. From a packet of seed I succeeded in raising a good number of plants, varied in character and finely marked, and for the last six weeks they have been much admired in these gardens; and the freedom with which they throw out lateral blooming shoots, promises that they will continue in bloom for some time to come.

Their undoubted value as decorative border-plants has induced me to send you these few lines, in the hope that others will be induced to grow them. For shrubbery margins, or for woodland walks, scarcely anything can be more acceptable; and being very hardy, as well as careless as to the nature of the soil, provided it be soil, there is no difficulty about their management. Like other flowers, however, they amply repay a generous treatment: in proportion to the stimulus they gather from the soil, will be the beauty of their development.

The seed may be sown where the plants are to bloom, but it is far better to sow it in a pan; and when the plants are large enough, prick them out on a shady border, and transplant them to their blooming quarters in the autumn. The Foxglove is a biennial, therefore the plants raised one summer will not bloom till the following season. If the soil in which they are planted be good, they will grow to a height of 3 or 4 feet, with a spike of flowers at least 2 feet in length; when so grown, they are really beautiful objects. I have some white flowers with crimson, others with purple, and some with brown spots; some of these spots are small in size, others so large as to be actually blotches of colour. The old type of Digitalis purpurea has been wonderfully improved, and in its old form it should now be discarded from our gardens. There are now several shades of purple - some so bright in hue as to partake of a red colour; others so soft as to be of a pale lilac hue. William Plester.

Elsenham Hall Gardens.