Among the returns that have been made as to the effect of the late drought on particular plants, the value of these new hardy clematises as additions to our summer budding plants must not be overlooked. As Mr. Fleming, of Cliveden, has well observed, "they have in their several varieties the very colors of which our summer flower-gardens are in a great measure deficient;" and these colors are presented not only in what may be termed huge masses, but also with a richness so far beyond any other bedding plant yielding the same hue of color, or even an approach to it, that any comparison between them would be as incongruous as one instituted between Mr. Thomson's new grape and the ordinary white currant.

But have these clematises successfully stood the test of the hot, fierce summer sun and the prolonged drought? This is the point of interest for bedders - out. To this it can be replied, that scarcely any position could be said to afford so good a test of their fitness in this respect as the flower-garden in front of Mr. Jackman's residence at the Woking Nursery. A free sandy soil would be thought to be one specially open to the hostile action of the drought; while the position of the beds admitted of scarcely any shelter to its occupants from the scorching tropical heat of the unclouded sun; and yet nothing could be healthier-looking than the foliage of the plants, and rarely anything in its way more magnificent than the immense array of flowers the beds presented, tinted with rich violet, purple, and mauve lines, that fairly glistened with and reflected a beauty quite of a new order and degree in the flower-garden.

One large bed on the left of the dwelling-house as it is approached from the carriage drive, and of a kind of elongated kidney shape, and a corresponding bed on the other side of the garden, of a somewhat similar design, were planted with seedling , clematises from the same batch out of which C. Jackmanni and others were selected. They were all good, and generally partook of the color of the variety just named, there being, however, slight differences in the hues, as some were paler than the others - just enough to impart to the beds a lively appearance, yet without interfering with the coherence of the mass of coloring produced.

Two things about these beds were noticeable : the one, the symmetrical growth of the plants, rising up in an aggregate elevation of evenness to the height of some twelve or fifteen inches; and, secondly, in this emerald couch seemed to recline a glorious mass of color, presenting an almost unbroken appearance, and yet without any trace of formality. These plants had had the advantage of some three or four years' growth, so the roots were strong and the vines stout; yet such is the rapid growth that these hardy clematises make, that a single plant will soon cover a surprising surface, either of a bed, or wall, or trellis. Hard pruning is a process these clematises may be said to "delight in," and so in November all the wood is cut away to within six or eight inches of the roots, and this causes them to break away very strongly in the ensuing spring. Good living is another delight, and so, soon after pruning, a thorough dressing of rich, well-rotted manure is forked in between the plants - in fact, it would not be too much to say that they are gross feeders, and. can take a good share of very strong nutriment. Mr. Jackman, who has now the experience of a few years to guide him, recommends giving them very liberal treatment in this respect.

The plants thus cut back in November make early growth, and put forth their leaves as early almost as the hardiest shrub that hastens to greet the spring. Nor is any covering absolutely required during the hardest and sternest winter; the utmost hardihood appears to be their inheritance, a recommendation of no mean order. The growing shoots should be pegged down, both to preserve a good outline to the bed, and to prevent the vines from being disturbed by the wind. The habit of the plants themselves tends to further a symmetrical arrangement of growth, as the laterals are actually blooming wood, and do not take the form of wood-producing shoots.

The beds are edged with some perennial variegated plant generally, though annuals could be employed, if required. Of these perennial plants such things as Lonicera aureo - reticulata, Stachys lanata, Vinca ele-gantissima, and the showy Salvia argentea, are used with the best effect. These variegated plants form a nice contrast to the mass of green foliage, or the subsequent addition of the brilliant layer of coloring; and perhaps of the kinds named the Lonicera and the Stachys are the best.

But, it will be asked, do these clematises bloom successionally? They do so in a remarkable degree, and if an inducement were occasionally applied during the summer in the form of some manure water, there is no doubt but that the plants would gratefully repay the application of such a generous regimen. A copious watering occasionally during dry weather would by no means be strength spent for naught, but it should be a thorough saturation of the roots. Even in a dry summer like the present these grand beds appeared to be indifferent to the drought, seeing that a mass of green foliage effectually screened the roots from the direct action of the sun, and kept the soil about them nice and cool, while it acted as a check on excessive evaporation.

A certain mode of obtaining a succession of bloom has been tried by Mr. jack-man with marked success; and it is well worthy of notice, especially by those who bed-out on a large scale. The plants that are pruned back in November may be said to bloom by the 1st of July in ordinary seasons, though in the case of the present summer the plants so pruned were in bloom fully three weeks earlier. If, instead of pruning in November, it be done in April, a postponement of the blooming season, so to speak, would be secured, and the plants should begin to bloom early in August, and this without any perceptible loss of vigor, or otherwise, by the retardation of the flowering period.

Some other beds also challenged attention ; and of these two were of a long oval shape, and were planted with C. rubro-violacea, edged with Lonicera aureo - reticulata. The plants of this variety of the clematis having only been planned in the preceding autumn, were necessarily not so strong as in the case of the seedling plants before mentioned; but there was yet quite enough of bloom to show up with fine effect the striking reddish violet hue that pervades the flowers of this variety. The Lonicera was remarkably good; indeed, there is nothing like a dry summer to bring out the especial fitness of this plant to decorate the flower-garden; and in this particular relation it contrasted admirably with the mass of color it surrounded. Two other corresponding beds of the form of the segment of a circle were planted with C. Jackmanni, edged with Euonymous radicans foliis variegatis; this arrangement, too, was very good indeed: and it is no doubt true that of all the new hybrid clematises Messrs. Jackman & Son have sent out, C. Jackmanni gives the best and most enduring body of color.

Two small oval beds had as their occupants C. lanuginosa Candida, edged with Vinca elegantis-sima. Perhaps in the case of this variety the drought was too severe, the want of the vigorous constitution and free-growing habit of the new varieties deprived it of the power of contending against the opposing elements of heat and drought. The present season must not, therefore, be taken as conclusive against the fitness of this fine variety for bedding purposes; if it were to succeed well, it would give a grand contribution of white to the flower-garden, supposing that freedom and continuity of bloom could be had from it.

The planting of these clematises, in whatsoever way they may be used (and there are several other ways in which they may be grown most effectually), can be done from September to April. At the time of planting, the soil should be freely manured; old, thoroughly rotted and well-seasoned manure should be used, and some leaf-mold, and, if near at hand, some calcareous soil will be found very beneficial. Prune back hard in November in each year to within four to six inches of the surface of the soil, and when this is done the plants should be mulched with good manure, which should be allowed to lie on the surface till the end of February, and then be forked in about the roots. To sum up, it has been well said that "to develop the beauties of these new varieties to the utmost, a light rich soil is requisite. A warm position is better than a cold one, yet relative climate is not of such great importance as full exposure to sunshine, and a tolerably dry sub-soil. Every kind of clematis is at home on chalk, and probably in many gardens on the chalk, where some favorite bedders make but a poor figure; these plants would prove of great value if assisted with good manure and leaf-mold to give them a fair start in the first instance.

Their brilliant shades of maroon, purple, and violet can not be equaled by any other race of bedding plants; and wherever and whenever they are seen they will be renowned and remembered." - Gardener's Chronicle.