STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 2& 



sap all the moisture and nourishment from the ground, and the 

 young plants grow spindling and sickly, yielding few, if any^ 

 flowers. If a shady place is necessary, put the bed on the shady 

 side of the house or fence, or make an artifical shade for it, but 

 don't put it where the plants will be starved to death by large 

 roots draining the earth all around them. Unless sure of the aid 

 from the stronger half of society, don't undertake many fancy beds 

 on the lawn, for they will require a great deal of attention to keep 

 the grass out, and, unless well attended to, they will mar the gen- 

 eral beauty of the lawn. The beds on the lawn ought not to be 

 relied on for cut flowers, their object being to beautify the lawn, 

 so for this purpose have a good generous flower bed laid out at the 

 side or rear of the house, or next the kitchen garden. Do not spend 

 any time or strength in devising elaborate designs for the bed of 

 triangles, half moons, whole moons, harps, hearts, etc., for these 

 will prove worse than useless; to make these shapes, the beds have 

 to be raised, and herein lies one great source of failure, all the water 

 that falls upon such beds is quickly drained into the surrounding 

 walks, and in a very dry season the plants cannot live unless sup- 

 plied almost daily by the watering-pot, and flowers raised under such 

 trying circumstances are not as productive of enjoyment as though 

 they cost a little less hard worK. Raised beds will do for very wet 

 locations, where the drainage is poor and the water is apt to stand 

 for a long time, but such places are rare around us. In very dry, 

 sandy places having the walks higher than the beds would add to 

 the moisture of the bed. Then, as a rule, have the beds no higher 

 than the walks. Simply mark out the bed on the ground with 

 rope, not too wide, so it can be weeded conveniently and easily 

 cared for. Have the ground well spaded, or plowed, if large enough, 

 and well manured, all coarse straw, sticks and stones removed, and 

 raked over smoothly, and the bed is ready for the seeds and plants. 



TRANSPLANTING PLANTS. 



The best time for setting plants is just before or just after a rain; 

 or, if not practicable to wait for a rain, mud the roots well and set 

 out late in the day, wetting the ground thoroughly. The next 

 morning, if the sun proves hot, shade svith paper, leaves, grass, 

 etc., for a day or two, and they will get a good start. Plant all of 

 a variety by themselves in a tasteful manner, they show to better 

 advantage than when scattered. Study well the growth and habits 

 of your plants before setting, and do not crowd them, as they will 



