1879.] BEDDING-PLANTS. 177 



BEDDING -PLANTS. 



Tender bedding -plants, as Verbenas and Ageratums, do better 

 propagated during the present month than those propagated earlier 

 in the year. Accordingly, as many as possible of these and kindred 

 subjects ought to be struck this month. A properly managed 

 three or four light frame, set on a hotbed of dung and leaves, makes 

 a capital place for propagating purposes at this season. A portion 

 of the surface of the hotbed may be covered with a layer of light 

 material and cuttings dibbled into it as soon as the heat is at a safe 

 point. When the cuttings are sufficiently rooted they are boxed off, 

 a little fresh material added to the surface of the bed, and another 

 batch of cuttings introduced. I always obtain my best plants 

 propagated thus. The greater number of the Dahlias required 

 should also be propagated this month, as these can be grown on to 

 strong plants without in any way being drawn or becoming pot- 

 bound. Seeds of quick-growing plants, as the Castor-oil family 

 and variegated Maize, should now be sown. Where there is a 

 chance of their not getting proper treatment through overcrowding, 

 the sowing may be deferred still later. Should seed of the " Golden 

 Feather " Pyrethrum be not already sown, no time should now be 

 lost in doing so. I merely sow it thinly in boxes, and when large 

 enough prick out the seedlings directly into their summer quarters. 

 Tagetes signata pumila, ten week Stocks, Asters, Marigolds, and 

 Phlox Drummondii do well sown now in cold pits or frames, trans- 

 planting the seedlings when large enough from thence into their 

 permanent places. The following hardy annuals, sown this montb, 

 will come into flower throughout the summer, and be very showy 

 till late in autumn. A hundred per cent more seeds need not be 

 sown than plants required; and, when large enough to thin, givr 

 each plant as much space as other bedding - plants. Delphiniun- 

 cardiopetalum ; Limnanthus Douglasii; Linum grandinorum rub- 

 rum ; Lupinus Cruickshankii ; Lupinus nanus albus • Nemophil * 

 insignis; Gilia tricolor ; Koniga maritima ; Leptosiphon densinorum 

 albus; Specularia speculum; Yiscaria oculata. These are all good. 

 All hardy or nearly hardy subjects should be got into their places 

 without delay. Owing to the severe winter, work in most depar- 

 ments will be still in a backward state, but no time should now b« 

 lost in getting all kinds of hardy plants divided and replanter. 

 Violas, if not already planted out, should be immediately taken in 

 hand. These require most liberal treatment, and a dressing of cow- 

 dung should be dug into the spaces these are to occupy. Calceolarias 

 may also be planted now. Of course these will have been growing 



