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on the furface of the bed level, whereby the top of 

 the roots will be covered >vith earth near two inches, 

 which will be fufficient. This work Ihould be done 

 in dry weather, becaufe the earth will then work bet- 

 ter than if it were wet ; but the fooner after planting 

 there happens to be- rain, the better it will be for the 

 roots ; for if it fhould prove dry weather long after, 

 and the earth of the beds be very dry, the roots will 

 be fubjed to mould and decay ; therefore in fuch a 

 cafe it will be proper to give a little water to the beds, 

 if there fhould no rain happen in a fortnight's time, 

 which indeed is very rare at that (cahn of the year, fo 

 that they will feldom beindanger of fufFeringthat way. 

 When the roots are thus planted, there will no more be 

 required until toward the end of November, by which 

 time they will begin to heave the ground, and the buds 

 of their leaves appear ; when you fl:iould lay a little of 

 the frefli earth, of which the beds were compofed, 



.. about half an inch thick over the beds, which will 

 greatly defend the crown of the root from froft ; and 

 when you perceive the buds to break through this fe- 

 cond covering, if it fhould prove very hard frofl, it will 

 be very proper to arch the beds over with hoops, and 

 cover them with mats, but efpecially in the fpring, 

 when the flower-buds will begin to appear; for if 

 they are expofed to too much frofl, or blighting winds 

 at that feaibn, their flowers feldom open fairly, and 

 many times their roots are deflroyed. 

 In the beginning of March the flower-flems will be- 



. gin to rife, at which time you fhould carefully clear 

 the beds from weeds, and ftir the earth with your 

 fingers between the roots, being very careful not to 

 injure them ; this will not only make the beds appear 

 handlome, but alfo greatly ftrengthen their flowers in 



blowing; and if the nights prove frofly,thebcds.fhould 



be covered with mats every evening, and Ihaded from 



-^ the fun in the heat of the day, . When the flowers 



are pafl; and the leaves are withered, you fhould take 



- lip the roots, and carefully clear them Trom the earth ; 

 then fpread them Upon a mat to dry, in a fhady place ; 



-' after which they may be put up in bags or boxes in a 

 ^' .dry room, until the O^ober followiiig, which is the 



■ .feafon for planting them again. • • 

 ^'^"-Thefe Perfian iorts are not only propagated by offsets 

 tt':frbm the old roots, but are alfo multiplied by feeds, 



- Hvhich the femi-double kinds produce in plenty ; 

 "/'therefore, whoever isdefirousto have thefein perfec- 

 ■■ * tion, fhould annually fow their feeds, from which new 



varieties will be every year produced ; but in order 



thereto, you fhould be careful in faving your feed, 



or in procuring it from fuch perfons as underfland 



how to fave it ; that is, who will be careful not to 



leave any flowers for feeds, but fuch as have five or 



. fix rows of petals at leaft, and are well coloured ; 



'^ fojr'Tince theie flowers increafe plentifully, it is not 



•^ worth the trouble to fow any incJilFereJit feeds, be- 



V ' caufe there can be but little fiopes of obtaining any 



* • good flowers from them. ; ^ ,- ^^ * - ■ ; : ■ 



. Being prepared with feeds, about the middle of Au- 



\" gull, which is the proper feafon for fowing them, you 



"'fhould get fome large pots, flat feed-pans, or boxes. 



■ 'Thefe fliould be filled with light rich earth, levelling 

 ;v the furface very even; then fow the feeds thereon 

 . ■ pretty thick, and cover it aboyt a quarter of an inch 



■ -thick with the fame light earth 5 after which, you 

 , fhould remove thefe pots, pans, or boxes, into a 



,- fhady fituation, where they maly have the morning 

 ".fun until ten of the clock ; and if the feafon prove 

 ' dry, you mufl often refrefli them gently with water, 



■ being very careful in doing of this, not to wafli the 

 ' feeds out of the ground. In this fituation the pots 

 : fhould remain until the beginning of Odober, by 

 ' which time the plants will fometimes begin to come 



Up, (though often the feeds will remain in the earth 

 until the end of November, before the plants ap- 

 pear;) but then you fhould remove the pots into a 

 more open expofure, where they may have the full 

 fun, which at that time is neceflfary to exhale the 

 moiflure of the earth ; but toward the middle of No- 

 vember, when you are apprehenfive of frofl> the pots 



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fnould be removed under a common hot-bed frame 

 where they may be covered with the glaires in" tlic 

 night time, and alio in bad weather ; but in tlic du- 

 when the weather is mild, they Ihould be entirdy 

 opened, otherwife the plants will draw up too weak 

 ^ The only danger they are in, is violent rains and 

 frofls ; the firft often rotting tlie tender plants, and 

 the frofl will often turn them out of the ground 



.therefore they fhould be carefully guarded againil 

 both thefe. 



In the fpring, as the feafon grows warm, thefe pots 

 fivjuld be expofed to the open air, placin^x them at 

 firfl: near the flielter of a hedge, to proteft them from 

 the cold winds ; but toward the beginning or middL 

 of April, they ihould be removed again into a more 

 fhady fituation, according to the warmth of the feafon ; 

 and if it fhould prove dry, they mufl be fometimes 

 refiefiied with water ; but you fliould be careful not 

 to give it them in great quantities, which is very apt 

 to rot thefe tender roots ; and in the latter end of 

 April or beginning of May, they fliouId be placed 

 where they may have only the morning fun ; in which 

 place they may remain till their leaves decay, when 

 they may be taken out of the earth, and the roots 

 dried in a fhady place ; after which they may be put 

 up in bags, and preierved in a dry place till the Oc- 

 tober following, when they mufl; be planted in the 

 manner before diredted for the old roots 

 The fpring following thefe roots will flov/er, at which 

 time you fhould carefully mark fuch of them as are 

 worthy to be preferved, and the fingle, or bad co- 

 loured fiov/ers m.ay'be pulled and thrown away, which 

 is the fureft method of removing them from the good 

 forts ; for if they are permitted to remain together 

 until their leaves decay, there may be fome offsets of 

 the bad forts mixed with the good flowers. You 

 , fhould not fufl^er thofe flowers^ which you intend to 

 . blow fine the fucceeding year, to bear feeds, if they 

 are inclinable fo to do, biit cut^ off the flowers v/hen 

 they begin to decay ; for thofe'roots' which have pro- 

 duced feeds, feldom flower well afterwards; nor 

 will the principal old root, which has flowered 



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ftrong one year, ever blow fo fair as will the offsets, 

 which is what fhould be principally obferved^ when a 

 perfon purchafes any of thefe roots ; for a great part 



t of the complaints made by thofe who have bouo-ht 

 ,. thefe roots at a dear rate, is principally owing to this. 

 For the perfons who fold them, being apprifed of this 

 matter, have parted with their old roots to their pur- 

 chafers, and referved the offsets for their own ufe; 

 which old roots have fo much degenerated from 

 what they were the preceding year, as to caufe afuf- 

 picion, whether the perfons they were purchafed from 

 had not changed the roots : and this degeneracy al- 

 ways attends thefe flowers, after having flowered, ex- 

 tremely large and fair, or that they have been per- 



. mitted to feed ; fo that it is abfolutely neceffary to 

 fow feeds every year, in order to preferve a fucceffion 

 of good flowers. - . ^ - .. ^ 



The manner of preparing the beds, and the diflance 

 and method of planting the roots, having been alrea- 

 dy arrefted, I fhall not repeat it here, but only ob- 

 ferve, that thefe flowers being tender, mufl be pro- 



. tefted from hard frofts, and cutting fharp winds, ef- 



. pecially after Chrifl:mas, when their flower-buds are 

 forming ; for if they are negleded at that feafon, 

 their flowers will rarely prove fair ; nor fhould you 

 fuffer them to receive too much wet in winter or 

 fpring, which is equally as injurious to them as frofl. 

 In planting rhefe roots you fhould obferve to place 

 the femi-double kinds, from which you intend to fave 

 feeds, in feparate beds by themfelves, and not inter- 

 mix them with the double flowers, becaufe they will 

 require to be treated in a different manner ; for when 

 the flowers of the femi-double kinds begin to fade, 

 you fhould carefully guard them from too much wet ; 

 for if they are permitted to receive hard rains, or are 

 watered at that feafon, the feeds rarely come to 



-. maturity, or they are fo weak, that fcarce one in 



fifty of them will grow, s.^ - 



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