Flowers all the Year Round 



business, and whether the Stocks are intended to be grown in small 

 groups or alone in beds, the treatment should be the same in either 

 case. With light land there is no difficulty ; it is only needful to dig 

 it well, and to incorporate a sufficient quantity of decayed manure. 

 If disposed to incur a little extra trouble to give the plants a start, 

 take out some soil with a trowel, and fill the space with compost 

 from the potting shed. This course is indispensable on heavy land ; 

 and assuming it to be rich enough, the quickest and most effectual 

 way is to make drills six inches deep at the proper distances, and 

 nearly fill them with prepared soil, in which the Stocks can be 

 planted. For a short time afterwards provide shelter from the mid- 

 day sun, but do not keep them covered a moment longer than is 

 necessary. In planting, it must not be forgotten that an uncertain 

 proportion of single specimens will have to come out. On this 

 account it is advisable to put them in small groups, and remove the 

 surplus, even if they are double. 



Tobacco. Seed may be sown on an open, sunny border, but it 

 is a waste of seed and labour to put it into poor soil. Prepare the 

 ground beforehand by deep digging, and by incorporating plenty of 

 manure. If this course cannot be adopted because of the near 

 presence of other plants, drive a bar into the soil and work a good- 

 sized hole. Fill it with rich stuff to within a few inches of the sur- 

 face, and finish with fine soil as a seed-bed, upon which sow the 

 seed. This method can only be. adopted for light land. In the 

 event of a cutting east wind after the seedlings are up, improvise 

 some kind of shelter until the danger is past. 



Verbena. Beds for Verbenas should be rich, mellow, and very 

 sweet. A poor soil not only produces poor flowers, but it materially 

 shortens the blooming period. Peg the plants down from the outset, 

 and allow them to cross and recross each other until there is a sheet 

 of glowing colour. 



Wallflower. This fragrant spring flower is not always grown 

 as well as it might be. It is often sown too late to become established 

 before winter sets in. Sow now in drills nine inches apart on friable 

 loam. Thin to three inches apart, and transplant the thinnings. A 

 little later repeat the operation, so as to leave the plants at a distance 

 of six inches in the rows. Assist them with water if necessary. 



Zinnia. A sowing in the open ground about the middle of the 

 month will provide plants in gardens where there are no means of 

 raising them artificially at an earlier date. Even those who possess 

 a stock will be wise to put a final sowing in the open. If possible, 



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