20 



truly ornamental tlian the different : 

 kinds of stock ; and when these are ^ 

 raised under glass, pricked out into 

 pots of the smallest size, and gradu- ! 

 ally shifted from pots of two inches j 

 to those of ten inches in diameter, ; 

 they will make winter ornaments : 

 for greenhouses and dining-rooms, j 

 which for fine masses of colour are 

 unequalled by any production of ! 

 tropical climates. Brompton Stocks, i 

 treated in this manner, have been I 

 known to attain the height of six 

 feet, and to live and flower for three 

 years. 



Hardy Annuals are generally 

 soAvn in the open garden, where they 

 are finally to remain ; or they may 

 he sown in pots or seed-beds to 

 transplant into their final situation, 

 when they are two or three inches 

 high. The latter mode is preferable 

 with all the Califomian annuals, 

 which grow stronger and flower 

 better when sown in autumn, and 

 suffered to stand the winter in the 

 open air, than when they are sotati 

 with the other annuals in spring. 

 About an inch in thickness of very 

 light soil should be laid on a hard 

 surface of rock or gravel, in any 

 obscure part of the ground, and in 

 this the seeds should be sown the 

 first week in September. In March 

 or April, according to the season, 

 when the flower-beds and borders 

 have been dug over and prepared, 

 the young seedlings should be taken 

 up by spadefuls and laid over the 

 bed, filling up all the interstices 

 between the patches with earth, so 

 as to make the surface even. Thus 

 treated, the Nemophilas, theLeptosi- 

 phons, theCollinsias, the Lasthenias, 

 and, in short, all the Califomian 

 annuals, will be splendidly in flower 

 in May and June. 



When the seeds of annuals are 

 sown, the ground should first be 

 made firm by pressing it ^vdth the 



saucer of a flower-pot, or the back 

 of the spade ; the seeds should then 

 be sprinkled thinly over the gi-ormd, 

 and just covered with fine earth, 

 which should be slightly pressed 

 do\\'n over them. "When they come 

 up, if they appear too thick they 

 should be thinned out, so as to leave 

 each plant standing apart ; the 

 distance at which they are left from 

 each other varying, of course, ac- 

 cording to the strength and habit of 

 growth of the plant. The plants of 

 some kinds of annuals will bear 

 transplanting after they have been 

 taken up in thinning, but generally 

 they are not worth the trouble of re- 

 planting. The seeds when sown are 

 often destroyed by birds ; but this 

 may be prevented by turning a 

 flower-pot over each batch till the 

 seeds have germinated, taking care, 

 however, to remove it as soon as the 

 plants begin to grow, lest they should 

 be draAATi up by the shelter thus 

 afforded, and become weak. Snails 

 and slugs are dangerous enemies to 

 young and tender annuals, and care 

 should be taken to search for them 

 early in the morning and late in the 

 evening ; or to destroy them by 

 watering the ground with lime- 

 water, so weak as not to disfigure 

 the plants. 



Ano'na jL. — Anonacece. — The 

 Custard Apple. — Stove-shrubs and 

 low trees, natives of the East and 

 West Indies. The hardy species are 

 now formed into a separate genus, 

 under the name Astmina ; and one 

 I species, A . triloba, which has very 

 curious flowers, is frequently found 

 in gardens and shrubberies. 



A'^TTHEMis. — Composite:. — The 

 Chamomile. — A. Pyrkliriim, the 

 Pellitory of Spain, is a pretty little 

 perennial, with large white flowers, 

 stained with lilac on the back. It is 

 a suitable plant for rockwork, or 

 boxes in a balcony, as it requires a 



