AUGUST 147 



quite impossible ; the deep crimsons, coral pinks, 

 and white, which are the only admissible ones, are 

 usually lost in a maze of lilac, magenta, and kindred 

 tints, which completely cheapen the value of the 

 good colours amongst them. The fact that on 

 their introduction the flowers were mainly weak 

 and washy, and that growers consequently became 

 habituated to bad shades in them, should not make 

 us lose sight of the fact that there are good ones 

 now to be had, and that the bad should not be 

 tolerated on any plea whether of economy or over- 

 sight. 



And to ensure good colours we must go to good 

 dealers. For the seeds of perennials this is a 

 matter of less moment than for the seeds of 

 annuals. Many of the perennials have no variation 

 from the type colour ; seed from a penny-packet 

 man may not come up, but if it comes up it will 

 probably be as good as that from an expensive 

 place. Of course there are many perennials to 

 which this remark would not apply, but as a general 

 rule it may stand good. But with annuals it is 

 not so. Cheap annuals are often bad annuals. 

 They are always bad annuals when they include 

 bad colours in their range. That is the reason 

 why they are cheap. In ordering flower seeds a 

 very good plan is to proceed as follows : 



Divide your seeds into two lists ; in one list 

 those, whether annuals or perennials, which are 

 represented by only one shade, such as phacelia 

 campanularia, commelina celestis, tagetes, and those 

 named kinds which are sold separately, although 

 their variety is not limited to one tint, such as 



