320 GARDEN FLOWERS. 



sown in April, very thinly and evenly ; with the hand spread 

 flat, press the surface gently all over, and then, with a very 

 fine sieve, shake enough compost over the seeds to cover 

 them, and no more. The pan may be placed in a hot-bed, 

 or in the stove. When the plants come up, let them be 

 thinned a little, drawing out any weeds that may come up 

 with them, and place them close to the glass. In a few days 

 they will be large enough to prick out four or six in a three- 

 inch pot ; and, as soon as they have taken root, they may 

 be put into the greenhouse, and allowed to grow until they 

 nearly touch each other ; but they must be kept near the 

 light, and have air in very mild weather. When they are 

 first pricked out, they must be shaded a day or two. They 

 may next be planted singly in three-inch pots, and still kept 

 near the glass. In these pots they may continue growing 

 until the roots completely fill the space round the sides, when 

 they may be transferred to five-inch pots, in which they may 

 bloom. Continue to give them plenty of air, plenty of light, 

 and moderate waterings. There are few annuals that com- 

 pete with them for elegance of form, symmetry, and beauty 

 of flower. The supernumerary pots of five or six plants 

 each — that is, those not required for separate potting — 

 should be set aside, and kept in the frames till the middle of 

 May, when they may be turned out into the borders in the 

 patches, without being disturbed. Being dwarf, they must 

 be kept near the front. From those in the borders, seed 

 may be expected ; be careful to gather it as soon as the 

 flowers lose their bright pink color ; for, as the seed ripens, 

 the petals get paler, and being a composite flower the seed 

 is not within a pod, and would easily be lost. Pick off the 

 flowers whole, and the seed easily rubs out. In warm situa- 

 tions and in light rich soils, the seeds for the out-door plants 

 may be sown in May in the borders, and the patches then 

 merely require thinning out. 



