1851. 



THE GENESEE FARMER. 



121 



Cabins IBfpartmcnt. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN/ 



Culture of Annual Flowers. — To succesd well 

 in this, there are a few points that should be well 

 considered : — 



1. The ground must be deep, rich, and mellow, 

 of such texture as not to harden or bake with rain 

 and drouth. When the seeds are sown, it must be 

 as finely pulverized as it is possible to be ; because 

 the seeds are generally small, and require a very light, 

 even covering, which can only be given in a fine 

 soii. When hard, stiff, or lumpy, the seeds get 

 buried too deep and beyond the reach of a sufficient 

 quantity of air, and heat, or they are exposed to an 

 excess of air, and either do not germinate or perish 

 during the process. Richness is indispensable, if a 

 luxuriant growth and brilliant large flowers are want- 

 ed, and this especially for the more robust species. 

 For succulent plants, such as the portulaccas and 

 mesembryanthemums, a dry, poor soil, will do well 

 enough. They derive a great portion of their nutri- 

 ment from the aerial gases. Balsams and coxcombs 

 in particular require high feeding, and therefore a 

 rich, deep soil. 



2. The seeds mvst be soion at a favorable time. If 

 put in the ground too early, they rot from the want 

 of sufficient heat to effect the process of germination 

 and assist their growth. We generally succeed best 

 by sowing in the open border, about the fir<t to the 

 middle of May, and generally the latter. If the 

 weather be very dry, Avater must be applied in the 

 evening through a fine rose of a watering pot. 

 Heat, air, and moisture, are the great agents of veg- 

 tation. 



4 Transplanting. Many things do well by being 

 sown where they are to bloom — the nemophilas, por- 

 tulaccas, mesembryanthemums, and mignonette, for 

 example ; but the better way in general is to sow the 

 seeds in a well prepared border, and transplant them 

 into their permanent situation, when an inch or two 

 in height. This should be done in a moist, dark day, 

 or evening. The earth being wet, adheres to the 

 roots, and especially if taken out with the point of a 

 trowel, 



, 4. Arrangement. Where they are scattered along 

 a narrow border of a walk, the arrangement requires 

 little skill ; but when they are grouped in beds or 

 figures on a lawn, care should be taken to place the 

 tallest in the center, having the dwarfs or lowest at 

 the edge. They should not be crowded, each plant 

 should have space enough allotted it to obtain its full 

 natural habit and dimension, as nothing looks more 

 confused or disagreable than a crowded mass of promis- 

 cuous flowers. A mass of verbenas, or dwarf phloxes, 

 may run into each other with propriety ; but differ- 

 ent species should be seen distinctly and separately. 



Bedding plants. A flower garden composed of 

 verbenas, petunias, fuchsias, heliotropes, cupheas, 

 salvias, scarlet geraniums feverfews, everblooming 

 roses and such things, is much easier managed than 

 that composed of annuals ; for the plants, when 

 turned out of pots about the last of May, or begining 

 of June, are in bloom in a few weeks, and with a little 

 attention to tying up, pegging down, and triming, 

 continue in bloom till frost comes ; while a succes- 

 sion of annuals is required for a succession of bloom. 

 Tiie bedding plants are tlierefore better for those 

 who have little leisure. Tliey, too, must have a rich 



deep, and mellow soil, and in dry weather copious 

 supplies of water, and some liquid manure occasion- 

 ally, to sustain their vigor ; for if they cease to grow, 

 they cease to bloom — the flowers being produced on 

 the new sheots. 



THE FUCHSIA. 



We are pleased to see the interest felt by ladies 

 in the cultivation of flowers. When we offered, in 

 the March iiumber, "a small collection of flower 

 seeds to those who applied in season," we supposed 

 that a hundred or two of packages would have sup- 

 plied the demand ; but we are gratified that our cal- 

 culations were far below the mark. We have already 

 sent the two hundred packages we at first prepared, 

 and have now more than five hundred applications ; 

 and this is not all, for <' still they come." The seeds 

 of our own raising, and a few that we procured from 

 Europe, are nearly exhausted ; but by further pur- 

 chases and collections from our friends, we shall en- 

 deavor to supply the demand. We may not in all 

 cases be able to send all the kinds we should prefer 

 to, and shall have to give them in small quanties, but 

 we shall send only those that are good, and, under 

 the circumstances, do the best in our power for the 

 lovers of flowers, regardless of trouble or expense. 



The cultivation of flowers affords the most innocent 

 and refined pleasure. It is a pleasure cheaply pur- 

 chased, and within the reach of all— alike accessable 

 to the rich and the poor. It enlivens the gloomy 

 mind, and invigorates the feeble frame. The moral 

 lesson taught by flowers is worthy of attention. Their 

 beauty refines the taste and improves the heart. Flow- 

 ers afford food for reflection — "Consider the lilies of 

 the field, how they grow ; they toil not, neither do they 

 spin, and yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all 

 his glory was not arrayed like one of these." 



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