156 THE GARDENER. [April 



Of half-hardy Annuals, which do better in our northern climate raised 

 in frames than by any other means, the following sorts are all well 

 worth growing as decorative plants : Dwarf Chrysanthemum Asters, 

 Dwarf Helichrysums, African Marigolds, Phlox Drummondi atro- 

 coccinea, Dwarf Mimulus, Dianthus Heddewigi and double Indian 

 Pinks, common Sunflowers. Antirrhinums and QEnothera Lamarck- 

 iana may be treated in the same manner with the others. These, like 

 the hardy Annuals named, will, under good cultivation, keep on flower- 

 ing as late in the year as ordinary bedding-plants. The way I treat 

 them is to set apart a sufficient number of frame lights; to prepare 

 the bed of Mushroom-dung and light soil in equal proportions; to sow 

 the seeds very thinly over the entire surface of the beds, covering 

 slightly with some fine soil, which is patted down gently with the back 

 of a spade. Then the sashes are put on, and the whole covered with 

 mats until the seedlings appear. The mats keep everything underneath 

 them in quite equable conditions, and save all bother. As the seed- 

 lings progress and the weather gets warmer, more and more ventila- 

 tion will be required, until the sashes are removed altogether. If sown 

 during the first half of this month, in the end of May they will be 

 ready for removal into their flowering places. Choose a dull day. 

 Make a mixture of soil and water, and dip the roots of the plants in 

 this, a handful of plants at a time, and plant them with a common 

 dibber, giving each plenty of room to grow. If the weather breaks 

 out strong the next day or two succeeding the one on which the plants 

 are set out, they may require watering. I find in the hottest weather 

 that one watering is sufficient, only it is better to hoe the ground the 

 next morning. In moderately sunny weather, the plants take care of 

 themselves without being watered. E. P. Beotherston. 



MIGNONETTE -CULTURE FOR AUTUMN, WINTER, 

 AND SPRING. 



In nearly every garden, large or small. Mignonette is found during the 

 summer ; and this is scarcely to be wondered at, as it is as worthy of 

 a place as the majority of sweet-scented flowers. During autumn^ 

 winter, and spring the case is very different, and it is only found in a 

 small percentage of gardens where sweet flowers for decoration and 

 cutting are in demand. 



The cultivation of Mignonette is comparatively easy, yet care and 

 particular attention must be bestowed upon it if success is expected. 

 Any neglect sufiicient to cause a check while growing brings the 

 shoots into a hardened and woody condition, and success afterwards 

 can scarcely be looked for. To grow plants trained upon umbrella 

 and pyramidal trellises for next autumn and winter blooming, a start 

 must be made during the present month. It is a mistake to sow too 

 early, and many cultivators fail on this account. If plants are raised 



