FEBRUARY 321 



out-door summer decoration. Transfer the seedlings to pots quite 

 early. 



CELOSIA PLUMOSA. Seed may either be sown now or in March, 

 and the routine recommended for Cockscombs will develop splendid 

 plumes, but in this case the dwarfing practice by means of the knife 

 is neither practicable nor desirable. 



CHRYSANTHEMUM INDICUM can be raised easily from seed, and if 

 sown now in a moderate heat, the plants will flower the first season. 

 Pot the seedlings immediately they are ready, then harden and put 

 them out of doors as early as may be safe. This treatment will keep 

 them dwarf and robust. Seedlings should not be stopped, but be 

 allowed to grow quite naturally. Those that do not flower the first 

 season, will do so in the second year. The well-known Paris daisy 

 (Marguerite) is a perennial Chrysanthemum, and it is the only one 

 which is not quite hardy. 



COCKSCOMB. The ideal Cockscomb is a dwarf, well-furnished 

 plant, with large, symmetrical, and intensely coloured combs. Seed 

 of a first-class strain will produce a fair proportion of such plants in 

 the hands of a man who understands their treatment. Sow in seed- 

 pans filled with rich, sweet, friable loam, and place in a brisk 

 temperature. Transfer the seedlings very early to small pots, and 

 shift on until the size is reached in which they are to flower. 

 Directly they become root-bound the combs will be formed, and 

 having been grown entirely in heat, it is not improbable that the 

 plants may be much too tall. If so, fill pots with suitable soil, using 

 a size smaller than those already occupied ; cut off the heads with a 

 sufficient length of stem, remove a few of the lower leaves, and insert 

 the stems firmly in the new pots. Place them on a hot-bed kept close 

 and shaded for a few days, and if the specimens have been judi- 

 ciously chosen and skilfully treated, there will be grand combs on 

 dwarf plants. .- 



DAHLIA, DOUBLE, can be grown and flowered from seed as a 

 half-hardy annual, and the best strains will produce a good propor- 

 tion of double flowers of fair quality. Either in this month or early 

 in March, sow in a warm house or pit. When the seedlings are 

 large enough transfer to single pots, and thoroughly harden them in 

 readiness for removal to the open ground in May. With very little 

 trouble and expense, it is easy to raise a large stock of this fine 

 border flower from seed. 



DAHLIA, SINGLE. After many years of neglect, the Single Dahlia 

 almost suddenly attained to great popularity, mainly through the 



