630 HOME AND HOUSEHOLD. 



season. It succeeds best in loamy, dry soil. It is a tender 

 perennial, two feet high. 



Phlox. This plant produces remarkably brilliant flowers, 

 completely hiding the foliage. The blossoms are of many 

 colors, from pure white to deepest purple. In many varieties 

 the flower is striped curiously. For bouquets and masses of 

 different colors, they are unexcelled. Plants may be started in 

 hot-bed, or seed may be planted in open ground, in autumn or 

 spring. Give good, rich ground, and set plants six inches apart, 

 both ways. It is a hardy annual, one foot high. 



Verbena. A genus of plants, of which several species are 

 extensively cultivated, sometimes for their lemon-scented, fra- 

 grant foliage, but more frequently for the grand beauty of their 

 flowers, which are found in all the various tints of the rainbow. 

 Sow seed in hot-bed or greenhouse, early in the season. Trans- 

 plant to flower-bed in May, giving considerable space, as a healthy 

 plant spreads over a large area of ground. It is a hardy annual. 



Roses. In the cultivation of roses, the ground should be well 

 drained and well enriched. Prune before the buds start in the 

 spring, cutting back last season's growth moderately, and casting 

 away all old and feeble shoots. Protect in winter by covering 

 with leaves, straw, and evergreen boughs. With care, the choicest 

 roses may be successfully wintered. The slug, and other insects 

 so injurious to the rose, may be destroyed by a plentiful supply 

 of tobacco water. 



Zinnia. A large, showy plant, with double flowers, some- 

 what resembling dahlias ; found in all the brilliant colors. Sin- 

 gle blossoms should be destroyed. It is very hardy, continuing 

 to bloom till frosts come. Sow seed early in the spring, in open 

 ground, and transplant to one and a half feet apart, in rich soil. 

 It is a hardy annual, one and one-half feet high. 



Primrose. Sow new seed every year, as new plants bloom 

 more abundantly. Give them plenty of time for growth before 

 flowering, always protecting them from frosts and cold winds. 

 Sow the seed in shallow boxes filled with rich earth. Do not 

 cover too deeply, or they will not germinate. Transplant into 

 pots, and they will blossom freely all winter; and, if trans- 

 ferred to a flower-bed, will continue to blossom nearly all sum- 

 mer. It is a tender perennial, six to nine feet high. 



