Propagation of Plants 95 



sary. If annuals, a succession of sowings insures a succes- 

 sion of bloom: but do not sow as I did once: 



I had not much space to give to poppies, and I was delighted 

 with the idea of succession; so the seed was sown in little 

 patches, perhaps eight inches apart, and the extra plants 

 thinned out. When about four inches high I put more Shir- 

 ley seed in the spaces so as to alternate with the growing 

 plants. They also came up promptly, but the first planting 

 became an impenetrable jungle through which no ray of 

 sunlight penetrated. I was pleased, for I foresaw a pro- 

 longed thicket of bloom through the summer. By and by 

 when the first growth showed signs of fading, I began a 

 search for the successors, and faith! they needed a rescuer 

 badly. Of all the anemic, attenuated growths I ever reared, 

 they were the sickliest. In vain to admit them to sun and 

 air then: they had reached a state of painful decline, and 

 speedily faded from view. When you plant a succession of 

 anything, choose a new spot each time, where the plants may 

 have at least a fighting chance for life. 



Remember, however, that when you undertake to raise 

 perennials from seed, you should have the hope of living 

 several years; else you may plant and leave it to men, who 

 shall come after you, to gather the fruit thereof. Happy is 

 the perennial seed that comes up in less than three or four 

 months; happy is the perennial seedling that achieves a vigor- 

 ous tuft of leaves the second year; thrice happy is the owner 

 of the seedling that grows to a blooming clump the third 

 year. If you have an incurable malady, either confine your- 

 self to annuals, or buy full-grown perennials. Only those 

 in whose veins the life currents pulse strongly, and have confi- 

 dence in the future, can afford to play with perennial seeds, or 

 plant young trees. I am willing to gamble with Fate, and 

 yearly buy the tardy seed, and only resort to the purchase of 



