102 On the Cultivation of Annuals. 



intended to apply. A few only, of those which have been long cul- 

 tivated, we shall consider as deserving of any particular notice. 



Since the first introduction into our gardens of that beautiful and 

 showy plant, the Calliupsis bicolor, (formerly Coreopsis, discovered 

 by that excellent botanist, Thomas Nuttall, Esq., in Arkansas Terri- 

 tory,) our gardens have annually received new and elegant acces- 

 sions. These accessions have been generally plants of our own 

 country, although they have come to us through the Enghsh gardens 

 and nurseries. A few of the most choice and delicate are Chilean 

 species, but the greater part are natives of that region near the Colum- 

 bia river, on the Nortli-west coast. Through the exertions of the 

 London Horticultural Society they have been introduced. At great 

 expense they have kept out Mr. David Douglas, a most indefatigable 

 botanist, from whom they have received nearly all their new additions. 

 Many of them have been recently introduced into our gardens, and 

 will probably in a few years take the place of many of the old vari- 

 eties, which scarcely deserve to be cultivated. 



It is to this class of plants, that our flower gardens and pleasure 

 grounds are indebted, for the greater part of their splendor, during the 

 warm and summer months of July, August and September. 



Annuals are divided into three classes, viz : — hardy, half-hardy, 

 and tender. The first may be sown in the fall, or early in the spring, 

 without receiving any damage from frost : the second may be sown in 

 the open garden, when all spring frosts are over: the third require 

 the protection of a hot-bed or green-house to forward them, till ready 

 for planting out in June or July. We shall commence with the 

 latter. 



Tender Annuals. The seed of these should be sown in pots 

 and placed in a hot-bed, in February or March. When they have 

 made four or ^ve leaves they should be potted into small ])ots, which 

 should be repeated till the warm weather admits of their being planted 

 out in the garden. 



Gomphrena globosa (Globe amaranthus). This showy annual, 

 though for years known in our gardens, does not seem to have been 

 generally cultivated. This, we believe, has arisen from many persons 

 not being able to make the seed vegetate. We have heard many 

 such complaints, and the fault is frequently laid to the seedsman. 

 — One instance we have had related to us, where the seed failed ten 

 years in succession. We cannot but commend the patience one 

 must possess, to persevere after such frequent disappointments. In- 

 quiring in what manner the seed was planted, we immediately discov- 

 ered the cause. The seed is enveloped with a light down or pappus, 

 which should be removed before planting, or else all efforts to make 

 it vegetate will ])rove unavailing. Nor is removing this covering 

 alone necessary ; the seed should be soaked in milk, or milk and 

 water, ten or twelve hours previous to planting. They should be 

 sown in a pot, rather thin, and placed in a hot-bed ; when they have 



