164 THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



CULTURE OF THE BALSAM. 



BY R. W. P. 



fjXCEPT in a few first-rate private establishments, it is 

 rarely we see respectable specimens of the balsam, 

 though it is one of the most popular and showy annuals 

 we possess. Even among nurserymen there are very 

 few who grow really fine balsams, and as to amateur 

 gardeners, not one in a thousand knows what the plant may be 

 made to do when liberally treated. It is such a gay, free-flowering 

 thing, that even a shabby lot of balsams has a cheerful appearance, 

 whether in pots or planted out in the borders ; and as they come of 

 all colours, and single, semi-double, and double, there is no end to 

 their variety. Now, having for many years enjoyed the pleasure of 

 raising fine balsams, with stems as thick as one's arm, three feet 

 high, and with heads of five or six feet in circumference, and every 

 shoot loaded with huge double flowers of the most dazzling colours. 

 I should like to be the means of setting a few readers of the Floral 

 World about balsam growing in earnest. We will first go into the 

 commonplace part of the culture, for the information of those \\ ho 

 simply want a show of border flowers. 



It is most important to secure good seed, and, unless a good 

 price be paid for it, it is not worth the trouble of growing. First- 

 class balsams, being very double, produce scarcely any seed ; hence, 

 high price must be an accompaniment of high quality ; and, after all, 

 the mere cost of seed is so trifling, considering what splendid results 

 may be obtained by having it really good, that the question scarcely 

 need be raised. Still, at this season of the year, immense quantities 

 of the worst descriptions of seed are sold in cheap packets ; one 

 half the seed in every such packet being dead, and the other half 

 possessing a life not much higher than that of the merest weed. 1 

 defy any man to sell seed, worth the trouble of sowing, at five 

 shillings for a hundred packets ; better half-a-dozen good things for 

 the same money, than a lot of rubbish, fit only to feed the sparrows. 

 This applies more to balsams and stocks than an^> other flowers, 

 because the poorer they are the more seed they produce, and, when 

 they become thoroughly double, they give little or none at all. 



Now, then, take your good seed, and sow a pinch in a seed pan, 

 using very sandy loam for the purpose. If you can give it a 

 little heat to start it, good ; but if not, place it in a warm corner of 

 a room, and keep it just damp until it begins to sprout ; and then 

 let it have light and moderate moisture till the little seedlings are 

 large enough to handle, and by that time the weather will be suffi- 

 ciently advanced for them to go to the borders. If they are all to be 

 planted out, set them in threes, triangle fashion, six inches apart 

 each way, and at least two feet from patch to patch. In planting, 

 put a good spadeful of rotten dung under each patch, mixing it well 

 with the soil ; and when they are planted, spread another spadeful of 

 dung on the surface, so as to mulch them and keep the roots moist. 

 If the weather is cold, cover them every night with inverted flower- 



