SPRING. do 



one of the pleasantest ; and if the season be dry as well 

 as mild, some seeds may be put into the ground in March ; 

 but in cold, wet seasons, it is better to delay, for no pro- 

 gress is made ; the seed either rots in the earth, or comes 

 up in such a weak condition, that the first frosty morning 

 kills the tiny plants. Indeed, annuals sown in May grow 

 so much more rapidly, that they are frequently in flower 

 before the early-sown crops ; and some seeds, mignonette, 

 for instance, never come up at all, unless the temperature 

 of both air and earth is higher than it is in early spring. 

 Some attention must be paid as to the depth at which the 

 seeds are sown, as, if placed too deep, they will either die, 

 or remain without germinating, and at all events, these 

 will take much longer to come up than those sown nearer 

 the surface. For small seeds, such as those of most an- 

 nuals, a slight sprinkling of earth over them is sufficient : 

 but all grow best when the bed on which they are sown is 

 well dug, and the soil pulverised. Self-sown seeds of an- 

 nuals spring up earlier, and flo^^'er before those sown in 

 spring, perhaps because they have generally so shallow a 

 covering of soil ; but as they often flower more freely as 

 well as earlier than their cultivated relations, they should 

 be left undisturbed, if possible, when dressing the borders. 

 There are some plants which sow themselves thus so 

 readily, that an introduction into the garden is all they 

 require ; then, year after year, they spring up of their own 

 accord, without any fresh sowing being requisite. £sch- 

 schoUzia Californica is one of these, Nemophila maculata is 

 another ; common foxglove also spreads rapidly in this 



