BALSAM. TOUCH-ME-NOT. 63 



that the seed used to be sown in the month of January, in 

 a hot- bed, and the concomitant usually attending was its 

 flowering before it could be safely planted out in the open 

 ground, for it could not stand the chilly clime of England 

 when planted so early. The Balsam started in the hot-bed 

 will unquestionably produce finer colors than if brought 

 forward in the open air, a circumstance contrary to the 

 nature of flowers in general The great characteristic of 

 the Balsam is a fine double flower with brilliant colors ; to 

 obtain this object the desideratum is time and attention, and 

 never sow the seed until five years old, for the older the 

 better, and will be more double in their flowers. How fre- 

 quently is it exemplified before our eyes, when we see these 

 fine ambrosial flowers in a garden, when the amateur begs 

 a few seed, which are sown the next season, under the sup- 

 position that they will produce as good, when contrary to 

 expectation, in most cases the flowers are single or nearly 

 so. Whereas had those seeds been kept five years, their 

 expectations would have been realized with double flowers. 

 To raise fine flowers that will produce the richest colors 

 the seed should be sown in a hot-bed in the month of 

 March, in a pan of rich sandy loam, and then placed in the 

 hot-bed. When the plants are two or three inches high 

 transplant them into two inch pots and return them to the 

 hot-bed to strike fresh root. When you find the roots be- 

 gin to shoot through the hole in the bottom, without break- 

 ing the ball of dirt, repot them into one a size larger, giving 

 them plenty of air (but avoid frost) until the plants are hard- 

 ened, keeping them as near the glass as possible to prevent 

 the plants being drawn up ; as soon as you can plant them 

 in the open ground with safety do so. Should you be de- 



