CHAPTER II 

 CULTURE 



THE culture of the Antirrhinum presents no real 

 difficulties. It is by nature a perennial, but the 

 best results are obtained by treating it as a 

 biennial, or even as an annual. If only a com- 

 paratively few plants are required, they can be 

 bought from a florist or nurseryman at planting 

 time, in April or May, but as it adds a tenfold 

 charm to one's plants to raise them from seed, I 

 give instructions for doing so. First treating the 

 plant as an Annual, seed must be sown in January 

 or early February in a heated greenhouse, and 

 there is no better plan than sowing in a box, three 

 or four inches deep, filled with a free compost. 

 The seeds being very small must not be covered 

 deeply a sifting of fine soil one-sixteenth of an 

 inch deep over them is enough. The boxes should 

 be well-watered before the seeds are sown and a 

 sheet of glass placed over them after sowing, and 

 shaded till germination takes place. When the 

 plants are large enough to handle, they should 



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