342 FLOWERS ALL THE YEAR ROUND 



mens will have to come out. On this account we put them in small 

 groups, and remove the surplus, even if they are double. 



TOBACCO. On an open sunny border seed may be sown, but it 

 is a waste of seed and labour to put it into poor soil. Prepare the 

 ground beforehand by deep digging, and by incorporating plenty of 

 manure. If this course cannot be adopted because of the near 

 presence of other plants, drive a bar into the soil and work a good- 

 sized hole. Fill it with rich stuff to within a few inches of the sur- 

 face, and finish with fine soil as a seed-bed, upon which sow the seed. 

 This method can only be adopted for light land. In the event of a 

 cutting east wind after the seedlings are up, improvise some kind of 

 shelter until the danger is past. 



VERBENA. Beds for Verbenas should be rich, mellow, and very 

 sweet. A poor soil not only produces poor flowers, but it materially 

 shortens the blooming period. Peg the plants down from the outset, 

 and allow them to cross and recross each other until there is a sheet 

 of glowing colour. 



WALLFLOWER. This fragrant spring flower is not always grown 

 as well as it might be. It is often sown too late to become established 

 before winter sets in. Sow now in drills nine inches apart on friable 

 loam. Thin to three inches apart, and transplant the thinnings. A 

 little later repeat the operation, so as to leave the plants at a distance 

 of six inches in the rows. Assist them with water if necessary. 



ZINNIA. A sowing in the open ground about the middle of the 

 month will provide plants in gardens where there are no means of 

 raising them artificially at an earlier date. Even those who possess 

 a stock will be wise to put a final sowing in the open. If possible 

 choose a sunny border sloping to the south, and make the soil rich, 

 fine, and rather firm. Drop seeds in little groups of three or four at 

 each spot, allowing fifteen or eighteen inches between the groups. 

 Cover the seed lightly, and ultimately thin the plants to one at each 

 station 



JUNE 



THE days are now at their longest, and plants in pits and houses 

 should have the full benefit of it. By opening the lights early, and 

 shading in good time, the flowering period will be greatly prolonged. 

 Ply the syringe over plants infested with aphis until they are quite 

 clean. In some instances, it may even be wise to pinch off young 

 shoots which are covered with the fly. 



