FLOWER GARDENING 



273 



seedlings are seldom as good as the plant from which 



they came. They are generally used to originate new 



varieties. Seed of the dahlia, for instance, can be sowed 



in a box in a warm 



room in early 



March, potted as 



soon as the plants 



are large enough to 



handle, and finally 



planted in the 



garden when the 



weather is warm. 



They will bloom 



nearly as soon as 



plants grown by 



dividing the roots 



or from cuttings. 



In growing an- 

 nual plants from 

 seed, there is little 

 difficulty if one 

 have a greenhouse 

 or even a hotbed with a glass sash. Even without these, 

 the plants may be grown in shallow boxes in a warm room. 

 The best boxes are about four inches deep with a bottom 

 made of slats nailed a quarter of an inch apart to give 

 proper drainage. Some moss is laid over the bottom to 

 prevent the soil from sifting through. The boxes should 

 then be filled with light, rich soil. Fine black forest 

 mold, mixed with one fourth of its bulk of rotten manure, 

 and all sifted well together, makes the best soil for filling 



FIG. 236. THE CARNATION (ELDORADO) 

 Copyright, 1903, Doubleday, Page & Co. 



