264 THE CULTURE OF FLOWERS FROM SEEDS 



pot culture ; and the Biennial, which includes the well-known 

 Brompton and Queen varieties all splendid border flowers. 



ANNUAL STOCKS are a large family, and include a wonderful 

 variety of colours, as well as considerable diversity in the habit of 

 growth. For their brightness, durability, and fragrance, they are 

 deservedly popular. It is usual to sow the seed under glass from the 

 middle to the end of March. Pans or shallow boxes, filled with 

 sweet sandy soil, make the best of seed-beds, and it may be well to 

 say at once that no plants pay better for cultural care than the sub- 

 jects now under consideration. Sow thinly, that the plants may have 

 room to become stout while yet in the seed-bed, and from the very 

 outset endeavour to impart a hardy constitution by giving air freely 

 whenever the weather is suitable. This does not mean that they are 

 to be subjected to some cutting blast that will cripple the plants 

 beyond redemption, but that no opportunity should be lost of partial 

 or entire exposure whenever the atmosphere is sufficiently genial to 

 be of benefit to them. If a cold frame on a spent hot-bed can be 

 spared, it may be utilised by pricking off the seedlings into it, or the 

 pans and boxes may simply be placed under its protection. The 

 nearer the seedlings can be kept to the glass, the less will be the dis- 

 position to become leggy. In transplanting to the open ground, it is 

 worth some trouble to induce each plant to carry a nice ball of soil 

 attached to its roots. 



On light, friable land, Ten-week Stocks can be successfully grown 

 from sowings made in the open about the end of April. The 

 character of the season must be some guide to the time chosen, and 

 the sowing in this case should be rather thicker than in the seed- 

 pans. Should the seed germinate well, severe thinning will have to 

 be practised as growth demands. This method of culture entirely 

 prevents the loss by mildew, which so often proves fatal to young 

 transplanted seedlings. Give the plants a thoroughly rich, friable 

 soil ; indeed, it is difficult to have it too good for them, and there is 

 no comparison between plants grown on a poor border and those 

 grown in luxuriance. Some growers make a little trench for each 

 row of seed, and this affords a certain degree of protection from 

 cutting winds, and also forms a channel for water when there is a 

 necessity for administering it. In a showery season, the plants will 

 appear in about twelve days, but in dry weather it will be longer, 

 and one or more gentle morning waterings may be necessary to 

 bring them up. The distance between the rows must be deter- 

 mined by the variety. Nine inches is sufficient for the dwarf sorts ; 



