Marguerite Carnations. 107 
augmented by propagation from seed and selection 
of those individuals which bloom in advance of 
others sown at the same time. The season at which 
the seeds are sown has a distinct effect upon the 
number of weeks or months necessary to bring them 
to the flowering stage. In general terms the race 
may be bloomed in six months, and seeds sown in 
January or February will require about this time to 
reach that stage. lf sown in March or April, when 
the days are longer and the light much more 
intense, growth 1s proportionately accelerated, and 
the younger seedlings take less time to come into 
bloom, even though they may. never overtake the 
first sown batch. Nevertheless, when the first flush 
of bloom of the latter is over the later sown 
Marguerites will be in perfection and constitute a 
succession. Should the summer be warm, or if 
growth is hastened by growing the plants in pots 
and sheltered by frames, they will bloom in four or 
five months. If allowed to come along naturally they 
will bloom later and continue flowering more or less 
freely till the new year. To flower during the fol- 
lowing spring seeds should be sown in August, 
grown in pots and wintered in frames or green- 
houses from which frost is excluded. 
Seed Sowing. 
For any purpose it is advantageous to rear the 
young plants under glass in oider to encourage a 
free and vigorous growth from the start. This may 
be done at any time from January till April accord- 
ing to the time the plants are required to be in 
bloom. Sow the seeds in pans of hght sandy soil 
and leaf mould, standing the pans on a bottom heat 
of 60° during the earlier months of the year. 
After Treatment. 
When the seedlings have made one or two pairs 
of leaves they may be transplanted to boxes of 
similar soil 14in. apart each way. The temperature 
of the house need never exceed 50° except from sun 
heat, and the seedlings should be stood close to the 
glass to keep them dwarf and sturdy. Free ventila- 
tion is also imperative as the spring advances and 
the temperature rises, as this encourages the produc- 
tion of side shoots or crowns. The seedlings may 
be potted up singly from the seed pans, and cer- 
tainly it is highly advantageous to grow them in pots 
