THE CANADIAN HORTirULTURTST. 



tlie vines once a week ; 1 think this 

 lielps to keep them away. Have hoed 

 them three times ; twice after rain, as 

 soon as the ground would permit, once 

 when dry : after working, I go over 

 the ground and pull up all large weeds, 

 if any. Melons should be worked well 

 lit the start, then <he vines will not 

 trouble you so much." 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



Sowing Seeds. — AnniTals are propa- 

 Ljated exclusively from seed. They are 

 sown after two ways : the one in the 

 l)Oiders where they are intended to re- 

 main ; the other in prepared beds, from 

 whence they are translated to the flower 

 garden. The former plan, although the 

 ii\ost simple and most ordinary adopted, 

 luis many inconveniences ; one of the 

 principal of which is, that the ground 

 is occupied for a long period before they 

 arrive at perfection. It would, there- 

 fore, be the more advisable, if it were 

 })ossible, to sow all annuals in prepared 

 beds, and afterwards transplant ; but 

 Hiere are some, such as poppies and 

 imilar-rooted plants, that do not bear 

 transplanting, so that these, under any 

 circumstances, must be sown where 

 they are to flower. It is also essential, 

 in order to ensure success in raising 

 seeds of any kind, to bear the following 

 important rule in mind. That the 

 mailer the seeds, the less deeply should 

 t hey be covered with earth; indeed, some 

 seeds are so fine that they ought to be 

 sprinkled .slightly over the ground, and 

 should the weather at the time be very 

 dry^a thin layer of damp moss ought 

 to be ]>lAced over them till they begin 

 to germinate ; but there are few hardy 

 annuals that require such extreme at- 

 tention as this, such care being more 

 intended for the raising of Calceolana 

 and other minute seeds in pot-culture. 

 Biennials are those plants, princi- 

 pally hardy ones, that do not generally 



flower until the second summer's giowth 

 and when properly planted out grow 

 most vigorously the first summer and 

 autumn, then bloom profusely the second 

 season and die. The section includes 

 some splendid flowers for efl'ect, scarcely 

 equalled in any other for decoration 

 eitlier in the open beds or in pots. 

 Those which are inclined to an annual 

 style of growth should be sown not 

 earlier than June and July, to avoid 

 grossness of growth, which is unfavor- 

 able for severe winters ; such are Wall- 

 flowers, Canterbury Bells, Borage, Fox- 

 glove, (Euothera, Honesty, Sweet 

 Williams, Hollyhocks, Sweet Scabious, 

 Dianthus corymbosus, French Honey- 

 suckle ; and those inclined to a peren- 

 nial or triennial duration, may be sown 

 late in May to obtain extra size and 

 vigor ; such are Campanula pyramida- 

 lis, blue and white, Valerian, some 

 species of Dianthus, Yerbascum, Rose 

 Campion, Antiirhinum, Brompton 

 Stocks, <kc. — James Vick. 



IMPROVEMENT OF SCHOOL 

 GROUNDS. 



The Michigan State Horticultural 

 Society has for some years been awak- 

 ening sentiment looking toward the 

 ornamentation of the country school 

 premises in that State. 



The society proposes this year to 

 offer an additional inducement in the 

 way of premiums to the school districts 

 that will make the best exhibits of 

 flowers produced under the care of the 

 children upon the school premises. 

 The following is the exact wording of 

 the off'cir, as it will appear in the pre- 

 mium list : 



" For the largest and best collectiou 

 of cut flowers grown by pupils h\ 

 school grounds of any school house ii\ 

 any district in this State ; fireit j)re- 

 mium, $15; second prenuum, $10; 



