Poppies and Marigolds. 335 



The earliest species is P. Phceas, the small corn-poppy in its many varie- 

 ties. To grow it requires no special care beyond sowing the seed broad- 

 cast in a light rich soil as early in the season as the ground can be put in 

 order. The seed must be sown where the plants are to remain, as all 

 poppies bear transplanting badly, and the annuals seldom survive it. 



When the plants are about an inch high, they should be carefully 

 thinned, and the leading shoots should soon after be pinched out. This 

 treatment will make them branch, and give sturdy plants. If the plants 

 are not nipped in, they will at once run into flower, set seed, and soon 

 lose their beauty. 



As soon as the flowers fade, the seed -capsules should be removed, as 

 thus new flowers are thrown up, and the period of bloom prolonged. Seed 

 should be saved only from the brightest colored and most double varieties. 

 It is astonishing to see what innumerable colors and shades a packet of 

 good seed will give ; the brilliancy of colors in some flowers being no less 

 remarkable than the delicacy of shading and tinting in others. Seed will 

 sow itself all over the garden ; and, when once the plants get fairly estab- 

 lished, every year will give a new supply, and the only care necessary is to 

 thin out the plants. 



The most effective place for a bed of poppies is in the grass, some little 

 distance from the carriage-drive ; if possible, on a slope where you can look 

 down upon them. 



P. somniferum, the species from which the opium of commerce is ob- 

 tained, is a far more stately plant than any of the varieties of P. Phceas. 

 The original color is white, and the flower is single ; but the so-called " car- 

 nation-poppies," which are varieties of this species, are of all colors, and 

 are very double. 



Plants of this species should be thinned out to at least a foot apart each 

 way, as they are strong growers, and, if judiciously pinched when young, be- 

 come very large. The double flowers are as large as small paeonies, and 

 remain for a long time in perfection. In general, the species only require 

 sowing, thinning, and pinching, and maintain a good show of bloom (if 

 seed is not allowed to ripen) far into the autumn. Like the last species, 

 plants from self-sown seed will come up year after year; but a selection of 

 the best flowers for seed is to be recommended. 



