CHINA ASTER. 379 



bed until the first flower is expanded sufficiently 

 to ascertain its hue, and then with a transplant- 

 ing spade they may be removed to such parts of 

 the parterre as we wish to embellish by any par- 

 ticular hue, or to sites where we intend to dis- 

 play the art of grouping colours. These plants 

 should be allowed sufficient room to extend their 

 branches, but at the same time be planted so 

 near to each other as to hide the earth, and 

 form but one mass of flowers, and they may ge- 

 nerally be planted on 



*' The spot where spring- its earliest visit paid." 



For by the time these annuals require transplant- 

 ing, most of the early flowering bulbs will have 

 been taken out of the ground. 



It is recommended to preserve the seeds from 

 the flowers of the centre or principal stem only, 

 as the flowers on the lateral branches are never 

 so large or so double, and consequently produce 

 inferior plants. This seed should be sown in the 

 spring, on a warm border, or upon a gentle hot- 

 bed, and when the plants are about three inches 

 high, they should be removed to a bed of rich 

 earth, where they may be transplanted at six 

 inches' distance from each other every way, and 

 kept shaded from the sun and properly watered 

 until they have taken root ; in about Ave weeks 



