A NTIRRHINUMA Q U I LEG I A A S TER 2 1 3 



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

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

 flowered in the same year without any difficulty. Pot singly, and 

 gradually harden by the middle of May. The Antirrhinum is, how- 

 ever, strictly hardy, and may be sown in drills during the summer 

 for flowering in the following season. Leave the plants in the seed- 

 bed until large enough for transplanting to final positions, and select 

 a moist day for the operation. 



AQUILEGIA 



Columbine. Hardy perennial 



THIS flower has acquired considerable importance of late years owing 

 to the introduction of many fine varieties, all of which are thoroughly 

 hardy. Sow early in March, in a frame, and plant out when strong 

 enough ; or sow in June, in an open border. If the season is favour- 

 able, most of those sown in March will flower the first year ; the 

 remainder will bloom in the year following, and the severest winter 

 will not kill one of them. 



ASTER 



Half-hardy annual 



To secure a long-continued display of bloom there must be several 

 sowings, and the earliest will need the aid of artificial heat. One 

 secret of successful culture is to give no check to the plant from its 

 first appearance until the time of flowering ; and if there is to be a 

 grand display of bloom, instead of the poor sickly things frequently 

 seen, a suitable bed must be prepared, whether the seed be sown 

 there or plants be transferred from other quarters. 



Asters do not readily accommodate themselves to violent alterna- 

 tions of heat and cold, particularly in the early stage of growth, and 

 therefore the most sheltered position in the garden should be chosen 

 for them.; but avoid a hedge or shrubbery, where strong-growing 

 trees rob the soil of its goodness. Begin the preparation of beds 

 during the previous autumn by deep digging, and incorporate a liberal 

 dressing of well -rotted manure as the work proceeds. On light and 

 shallow soils it will do more harm than good to bring the raw subsoil 

 to the surface, but the subsoil may with advantage be stirred and 

 loosened by the fork, and if a little loamy clay or even pure clay in 



