The Culture of Flowers from Seeds 



sowing has given a great impetus to the culture of this plant, especially 

 as it possesses a high value for decorating vases, in addition to its 

 great usefulness in beds and borders. From seed sown in January or 

 February the plants should begin to bloom in September or October 

 of the same year, and continue to flower until the following June, 

 when it is unprofitable to retain them longer. No coddling of any 

 kind is necessary. Dig a trench in a sheltered, sunny spot, and fill 

 it with rich soil freely mingled with decayed cow-manure. If the 

 land happens to be somewhat tenacious, Anemones will take kindly 

 to it, but it should be well worked, and perhaps it may be needful to 

 add a little fine sandy compost at the top as a preparation for the 

 seed. Sow thinly in lines on the surface, and merely rake the seed 

 in with a very light hand. The woolly seed should be rubbed with 

 sand, and the two may be sown together. Germination is decidedly 

 slow, so that until the seedlings appear the removal of weeds requires 

 care. The plants should be thinned until they stand six inches apart. 

 The thinnings will bear transplanting if carefully handled and helped 

 with water afterwards. Of course boxes or seed-pans can be resorted 

 to, but the plant from its earliest stage is eminently capable of 

 braving the weather in all but our bleakest districts. Seed may also 

 be sown in June or July for plants to flower in the following year, 

 and the results will probably be even more satisfactory than from 

 the spring sowing. 



ANTIRRHINUM 



Snapdragon. Hardy perennial 



As BORDER flowers these will thrive almost anywhere, and they may 

 be treated as annuals by sowing the seed early in the spring. They 

 prefer a dry soil and the most breezy sunny situation that can be 

 found for them. They are often seen on ruins, producing flowers of 

 varied colours, and seemingly indifferent to the starving conditions 

 that surround them. 



There are three distinct classes dwarf, medium, and tall ranging 

 in height from six inches to three feet, and all are worth growing. 

 From sowings in heat in January or February the seedlings may be 

 flowered in July of the same year without any difficulty. Gradually 

 harden by the middle of May. The Antirrhinum is, however, strictly 

 hardy, and may be sown in drills during the summer for flowering in 



216 



