;o4 



Journal of Agriculture. 



[8 May, 1908. 



Soil and Culture. 



Any fair garden soil is suitable, if well and deeply worked and 

 manured. Although the sunflower is a plant that will thrive fairlv in poor 

 soils, and w'th a limited supply of moisture, it is found that a moderate 

 su})ply of manure and either good cultivation, to conserve moi.sture, or 

 irrigation, is necessary to obtain maximum results. The soil for the re- 

 ception of the annual kinds should be prepared some t"me prior to the 

 season for sowing seeds in sjiring. September is the mcst suitable month 

 for such sowing, early or late, act^ording to liability to fro.st. The 

 i-'oil should l)e finely broken and di\"ided before sowing and the seeds 

 sown at a dejjth of about two inches. The tall varieties are suitable 

 for growing in masses at the back of large borders, while the miniature 



" .SILVER QL'EEN, ANNUAL. 



kinds should be allotted positions suited to their height — about two feet. 

 Seeds of the miniature sunflowers may be sown in clumps, allow'ing six 

 inches for each plant, but the larger varieties should recei\e much more 

 room — one foot between the plants at least. 



The herbaceous kinds are propagated from divisions of the old plants 

 and from seeds. Seeds should be sown in spring and the young plants 

 be .set out as soon as ready tO' handle, to insure a fair se;^son of groiwth 

 before the blooming season. Divisions should also be planted in spring, 

 the plants blooming so late into autumn that dividing at that time can 

 only be done at the expense of the crop of flower.s. Establi-shed plants should 

 be divided and replanted into fresh soil in alternate years; if allowed to 

 remain longer, the shoots become crowded and small and the blooms in- 



