128 FLOWERS AND THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



March in gentle heat, in shallow seed pans, and when 

 the little plants are large enough to handle, prick them 

 out three inches apart, either in a bed of rich earth or 

 in large pans. When the weather is fine and settled, 

 remove them with plenty of earth to the roots, plant 

 them two feet apart in a bed prepared for them, where 

 they may remain and flower. When they flower discard 

 all that produce single bad-shaped flowers ; cut down, 

 name, and mark ail that are good, and plant them where 

 they are to flower the next year. 



The Campanulas are fine showy hardy plants, which 

 are most useful in a garden from the abundance of 

 their handsome flowers. Some of them grow very tall, 

 and the Campanula pyramidalis (the chimney companion 

 of cockney gardeners) may be encouraged to an enor- 

 mous size by repeated re-potting, preventing its coming 

 into flower for two years, and very rich soil, It pro- 

 duces its immense quantity of fine blue flowers the 

 beginning of summer, and keeps in flower a long time. 

 It and all the perennial campanulas are increased 

 generally by division of the root, but they may be raised 

 from seed, and they like a rich garden soil. 



C. cinesia and C. uniflora are beautiful little campa- 

 nulas, which grow quite close to the ground, and are 

 covered with their pretty blue flowers during June and 

 July. C. carpatica, C~ rotundifolia, C. garganica, and 

 many besides, are also of rather low growth, and summer 

 flowering. All these make pretty bedding plants, from 

 their good-looking foliage and most abundant flowers. 

 Campanula medium, the Canterbury Bell, is one of our 

 freest blooming biennials, giving to the gardens splendid 

 blues of all degrees of intensity, pure masses of white, 

 and double flowers, both white and blue. C. speculum, 

 Venus's Looking-glass, has been already mentioned as 

 an annual : several other names have been given to this 

 pretty flower. 



The campanulas are so pretty that many of them are 

 quite worthy of culture in pots, and the roots of all are 

 said to be good to eat. 



Tha Columbine (Aquilegia), from the peculiar form, 



