THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. ooO 



enough to handle, they should be pricked out into a rich border at 

 six inches apart, and should be transferred to their permanent 

 quarters about the middle of June. The spot should be rich and 

 mellow, and the under surface well stirred up some time before. 

 The after culture is to keep them free from weeds by frequent 

 hoeings, and in about six weeks after planting, the plants should 

 have three or four inches of soil drawn up round the stems on a dry 

 day. These will furnish a good supply of sprouts from the middle of 

 October until Christmas. A later sowing should be made at the 

 end of April, the plauts treated in the same way as the above, when 

 they come in well to take the place of some early summer crops 

 which are removed. These will not get so large as the above, but 

 they will come in well to keep up the supply after the others are 

 done, to say nothing of the many pickings of greens which they will 

 produce after they begin to grow in the early spring. It should be 

 borne in mind that the tops of Brussels sprouts should not be cut 

 until all danger of severe frost is past, as when the hearts are taken 

 off, it exposes a wound to the action of the frost, wiiich soon causes 

 the stem to decay. There is English as well as imported seed to be 

 bought ; the latter is generally preferred as being generally more 

 pure. Nevertheless, we have seen such good crops from English 

 seed, that we dare not say anything against it. 



HAEDY FLOWEES OF THE TEAE. 



GIVE you a thousand thanks for the occasional hearty 

 advocacy of hardy flowers in the Floeal AVorld. 

 Many, many amateurs, who love their gardens, have 

 neither time nor money to grow tender plants in any 

 quantity, and some who do grow them might, I am sure, 

 have more enjoyment than they do, if they would give more atten- 

 tion to beautiful subjects that thrive in any soil, and take care of 

 themselves entirely. Through your teachings I have been enabled 

 to collect an immense number of most beautiful subjects that I 

 should never have heard of through other works, for horticultural 

 writers seem to consider it their first duty to lead people into 

 expense, and to tread in the wake of what is called " fashion." Con- 

 found fashion, if it prompts me to look with disdain on a tuft of 

 phlox in autumn, or to contemn wallflowers in spring ; confound 

 fashion, if it compels me to be satiated with yellow and scarlet in 

 June and July, or even till the middle of September, and then leaves 

 me to meditnte on bare earth, like one who has been blinded by the 

 splendour of fireworks, and cannot walk home in safety because of 

 the intensity of the darkness. Do go on in this way ; let us know 

 more about the treasures Flora keeps in store for those who love 

 simple things and constant change of beauty every day of their lives. 

 Even now my garden is gny, the phloxes are not flowerless, the roses 

 are still worth cutting, the Michaelmas daisies are bright and clear, 



