758 Journal of Agriculture. [10 Dec, 1908. 



are transplanted in is in good condition and supplied with plant food. 

 Watering seed beds is also a frequent cause of failure. If the soil is 

 moderately moist, little, if any, water is required until the plants appear, 

 and in case of palpable need of water it should be applied gently through 

 a fine rose nozzle. A heavy, splashing, watering will produce a caked 

 surface through which the young tender plant cannot penetrate. 



Soil Preparation and Planting. 



The secret of the cultivation of the fine flowers seen at exhibitions is a 

 thorough preparation of the soil. It is commonly the fate of annuals to 

 be planted in poor, cloddy, soil that has been robbed by large shrubs or 

 trees of all moisture and plant food it contained. Under such conditions 

 poor results are certain, but if a position is selected free from root in- 

 vasion and in good sunlight, and the soil is deeply worked and well man- 

 ured, and afterwards cultivated and watered when necessary, strong plants 

 and fine flowers will develop if the variety is a good one and suitable to 

 the place. 



A succession of plantings of \arious annuals may be made while moder- 

 ately moist conditions prevail in spring, the best results being obtained 

 from plants that have been set out fairly early while the soil and the air 

 were moist and the weather cool. The plants should not be allowed to 

 grow in the seed beds or boxes until they are drawn and weakly, but 

 should be transplanted when about an inch or slightly more in height, if 

 the kind is capable of resisting the climatic influences likely to occur. Suffi- 

 cient room should be allowed for each plant to enable it to attain its maxi- 

 mum size. A very common error is to plant closely to "cover the ground" 

 quickly. The plants consequently are starved and, if such is the cultiva- 

 tor's ideal, it would be waste to purchase seeds or plants of good kinds 

 or varieties. To prolong the season of blooming, the flowers of free seed- 

 ing annual plants should be cut as sewn as they are fading, thus prevent- 

 ing the formation of seeds which would quickly terminate the flowering 

 period if permitted. 



Selection of Kinds. 



Individual taste and local conditions generally determine the choice of 

 all plants. In the case of annuals and biennials, the cultivator has a wide 

 range of plants and reeds to choose from and should be guided in a great 

 measure by results obtained locally. Among the most valuable and popu- 

 lar annuals are : — Sweet peas, phlox Drummondii, cornflowers, poppies, 

 larkspurs, coreopsis, mignonette, lupins, sweet sultan, sunflowers, nastur- 

 tiums, stocks, nemesias, asters, zinnias, .salpiglossis, cockscombs, amar- 

 anthus, Sturt's desert pea, various e\-erlasting flowers, and annual grasses. 

 Biennial plants worthy of culture include : — Foxgloves, Canterbury bells, 

 wallflowers, stocks of the Brompton class, leptosyne, &c. 



Flower Garden. 



As the foliage of daffodils and other spring flowering bulbous plants 

 dies the bulbs should be lifted, if such is the intention. After being cleaned, 

 the bulbs should be stored away in a cool dry place until planting season. 

 If the bulbs are to be replanted in the same situation, the soil should 

 be thoroughly broken up, and new soil added' and well worked in. A 

 dressing of bonedust may be incorporated with benefit. 



