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Morning cap of worked muslin and narrow green satin ribbon.

Sleeves of cambric and lace, with bows of blue ribbon on one and yellow on the other.

DESCRIPTION OF MODEL.

With this month's number we present our readers with the model of a shawl-mantelet suitable for the season, which may be made of moire, satin, taffetas, velvet, &c., and trimmed with guipure velvet, plush frisé, fringe, or frills. The part forming almost a sleeve is made by cutting it with the back, and forming seam with the bias of the front. It is open at the throat, and meets at the waist with a brooch or pin.

THE POLYANTHUS.

THERE is hardly a spring flower that awakens so much interest as the polyanthus, nor is there any of so fine a character so much neglected. In the country, it is true, there are many humble florists who still pay attention to its culture; and if we desire any addition of healthy plants, we must go northward. We are in great hope that as the Manchester Botanical Society holds a show the last week in April, we shall see this beautiful tenant of the border exhibited in perfection. At present there is not one good grower round London for many miles; and those who order them of metropolitan nurserymen will have them from the country second-hand, or will get plants that the buyer can do nothing with. They require a rich loam; a natural border, which the mid-day sun does not reach, or, if in an open space, shading from the extreme heat; and a mixture of one-third well-decomposed cow-dung is all the addition wanted. Some of the best varieties have been in cultivation for years, and for a very long time the only novelties worth adding that have come under our notice are Fire King and the Duke of Northumberland, now for the first time advertised to come out. Pot culture is resorted to for exhibition, but their beauty is to be seen in the ground, for the flowers are perfectly flat, and are then to be seen to the greatest advantage. Of the polyanthus there are two distinct characters, the pin-eyed and the thrum-eyed; in the one the pistil comes above the face, and is like a pin with its head exposed, while the anthers with their farina are concealed at the bottom of the tube. These are not valued, although exceedingly beauti ful as border flowers. The others have the pin very short, and the anthers with their farina fill up the tube, and rise above the surface. These are the show flowers. This fact accounts for the difficulty of obtaining new varieties. The thrum falls down to the pistil or pin, and the flower fertilises itself; the consequence is that most seedlings are like the parent. The proper way to obtain a change would be to fertilise a pin-eyed one of desirable colour and character with the thrum of a good variety, which is comparatively easy, because the pin, being above, can be got at well. But even then the vast majority will be pineyed like the parent, though varied in colour. Still, for anything very novel, we should look to the progeny of these pin-eyed ones. A few good ones for the young cultivator would be Fire King, Duke of Northumberland, Lord Crewe, Fletcher's Defiance, Pearson's Alexander,

Collin's Princess Royal, Buck's George IV., Nicholson's King, Craiggie's Timandra, Collyer's Prince Regent, Craiggie's Bertram, and Clegg's Prince of Orange. In pots they should be cultivated like auriculas, with the exception of the soil being two-thirds rich hazel loam. They must never be dry; and, as the fibres grow close to the pot, they must not be frozen. In the ground they take no harm. After blooming they are parted into single hearts, and they never bloom so well as when all side shoots are removed as soon as they appear. When shown there should be but one truss, which, like the auricula, should have seven perfect pips, although only, five are wanted in the north. They must never be allowed to get dry, and must have all the air that can be given in open weather. In beds or borders they will grow themselves; but the greatest care must be taken that no slug or snail be allowed to touch them. They must be constantly examined to prevent it.

MARCH.-The third month according to the calendar of Numa and Julius Cæsar, but in the calendar of Romulus it stood first, in honour of his reputed father, Mars. Aries is reckoned the first sign of the zodiac, and consists of sixty-six stars. It is usually called the vernal sign.-From the Almanack for 1851, issued by the Directors of the Bank of Deposit, which, in addition to the usual contents of an almanack, gives a synopsis of the working of the Bank of Deposit and National Insurance and Investment Association. See advertisement on second page of wrapper.