268 THE CULTURE OF FLOWERS FROM SEEDS 



desired in cut flowers, firm slender footstalks, brilliant and varied 

 colours, exquisite grace and delicious perfume. 



Spring sowing is usual and will continue to be generally practised, 

 but those who have the courage to adopt autumn sowing will be re- 

 warded with an earlier display of bloom, more vigorous growth and finer 

 flowers. In the majority of gardens seed should be sown in August, 

 again in February or March, followed by one or two successional 

 sowings at intervals of a fortnight for insuring a prolonged supply of 

 this flower far into autumnal days. Even in small gardens, where 

 only a few clumps can be grown, it is unwise to depend on a single 

 sowing. By a succession of sowings the risk of total loss is avoided. 



Sweet Peas have two principal foes, the slug and the sparrow. 

 Against the former the usual precautions, such as ashes, soot, lime, 

 and various traps, are available ; and the latter must by some means 

 be prevented from doing mischief. After the buds show through the 

 soil, it is generally too late for the adoption of remedies. Nearly all of 

 the heads will be found nipped off and laid ready for inspection. One 

 could almost forgive the marauders were food the object, but the birds 

 appear to commit havoc from pure wantonness, and in the absence of 

 precautions whole rows are sometimes destroyed in a single morning. 



When two or three inches high supports should be given, and 

 these may be primitive or decorative according to the will and pocket 

 of the cultivator. The blooming period can be prolonged by the simple 

 expedient of daily removing the newly formed seed- pods, a task in 

 which children take delight for a time. The ripening of only a 

 few seed-pods speedily puts a stop to flowering. 



TOBACCO 



Nicotiana. Half-hardy annual 



THE Tobacco plant is grown both for use and ornament, and in the 

 latter capacity it is universally acceptable. The cultivation is that of 

 half-hardy annuals, the seed being sown in heat in February or March, 

 and the plants put out in June, or earlier. But in some places, more 

 especially in the south of England, Tobacco seed sown on an open 

 sunny border early in May will produce fine plants that will flower 

 freely in August. 



