46 MASSACHUSETTS HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



the spring, should the ■ueather happen to be dull there is sure to 

 be "damping off." The best way to stop this is to prick the seed- 

 lings into boxes or pots of fresh soil. 



Another way to obtain plants earlier than those raised out of 

 doors is to sow the seeds in cold frames. When the weather is 

 warm enough the young plants may be transplanted from the 

 frames into the ground where they are to blossom. The trans- 

 planting should be done when the weather is moist. 



The best and most popular way to raise these plants is to sow 

 the seeds where the plants are to be grown in the garden. The 

 ground should be put into good condition by digging and enriching 

 and made fine by raking before the seeds are sown. Very often 

 the seedlings come up too thickly and thinning the plants out is 

 one of the most important points in their culture, the neglect of 

 which does more to injure them than anything else. When sown 

 thickly and allowed to run up into flower without ever being thinned 

 great disappointment will often follow. Thinning out the plants 

 should begin just as soon as they are large enough to handle. 



Sowing should begin outdoors with the most hardy kinds when- 

 ever the frost is out of the ground. In fact there are kinds which 

 are a complete failure if not sown early; such, for instance, are 

 sweet peas and poppies. The kinds that are more tender should 

 not be sown until the ground is gaining warmth, about the middle 

 of May. 



There is another point in connection with these plants that is 

 very important and often neglected; that is, removing all decaying 

 blossoms and preventing seed from forming. If this is not attended 

 to the season of blossoming is very much shortened. If this is 

 constantly seen to the energies of the plants are put towards the 

 production of growth and flowers, and the flowers are finer and are 

 produced more abundantly. Watering and stirring the soil are 

 two factors which must be attended to regularly. 



The large growing kinds will require staking and this should be 

 done as neatly as possible. There are very few people who have 

 the knack of staking outdoor plants successfully. 



