HARDY ANNUALS 115 



ground will be in an easily workable and friable condition. 

 If the soil is inclined to be clayey, and therefore heavy, it 

 will be found a good remedial measure to work in some road 

 sweepings or grit, and, where the$f are available, a quantity of 

 wood ashes saved from the autumn bonfire. 



With the advent of March it 'will be necessary to fork over the 

 ground, breaking up the large lumps that have not already fallen 

 apart under the influence of frost. In order to produce a fine 

 tilth in which to sow the seed the rake must be brought into play. 

 This should be made of iron, and should be plied vigorously. 

 In a normal season the winds of March will complete the process 

 of drying and pulverising the soil. The closing days of the month 

 and the opening days of April will provide an ideal opportunity 

 for sowing. 



The methods of sowing the seed will vary with the purposes 

 it is intended to achieve. If it be desired to fill up odd vacant 

 spaces in the herbaceous border the seed will of course be sown 

 in small round patches, about two feet in diameter ; if for edgings, 

 in long, shallow drills ; and if for beds, in more or less broadcast 

 fashion. The proper depth at which to sow must of course be 

 regulated by the size of the seed. For such fine seed as that of 

 gilia it will be necessary merely to cover it over as lightly as 

 possible by shaking a little fine soil over it through a narrow- 

 meshed sieve. The seeds of cornflowers, linum, godetia, etc., 

 which are larger, may be covered to a depth of half-an-inch, 

 while the larger seeds, such as those of giant-flowered sunflowers 

 and lupins, will require to be sunk a couple of inches below the 

 surface. 



It is necessary to avoid sowing too thickly, especially in the case 

 of very fine seed, but however sparing one may be in this respect 

 it is absolutely certain that more plants will fight their way 

 through the soil than can be allowed to attain maturity. There- 

 fore the practice of thinning out must be followed rigorously at 

 an early stage of the seedling's growth, and it must be continued 

 at intervals until the proper distance between plant and plant 

 has been secured. Overcrowding is fatal ; it is the cause of more 



