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CULTURE OF FAVORITE PLANTS. 



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JLMAR YLLIS. 



s, through all its various spuci 



"^IIE Ainai)llis, through all its various species, produces the most brilliant 

 'C^rs flow Lis, blooming generally in the winter and early spring. This 

 ^•4i^ I mill \ ot plants has been much divided of late years, and the many 



J know 11 to the masses under the above name have other appellatives 

 ^ IS well They delight in a rich soil made up in about equal parts 

 /T of well lotted manure (sweetened by exposure to the air), leaf-mold 

 oi spent hops and good loam, with a slight admixture of sand. To 

 icsl and iipcn the bulbs for future use, after the flowering season, the pots are 

 embedded in the soil in the open air until the approach of winter, when they 

 should be taken where they are to grow and bloom. Our own experience is 

 practical, so we will give it. We purchased five bulbs, two with persistent 

 foliage, and three that would keep it only a part of the year. These last we 

 planted in pots, having the promise that they would bloom that summer; but they only 

 grew leaves, and filled their pots with thick, white roots as large as a pen-holder. In due 

 time they lost their leaves and went to sleep, and we intended keeping them dry, as directed. 

 By some means, two got enough moisture to retain their long roots, and they bloomed the' 

 following spring; the third spent its strength in forming roots again. Of course, under 

 proper circumstances, they should blossom every year. Abundance of water and occa- 

 sional applications of manure-water are required during the season of leafage. They 

 should be set in not less than seven-inch pots, with about half the bulb bedded in the soil. 



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m their course the spring and summer flowers have passed 



the months come on that ripen the fruits and finish the 



find ourselves dependent ujoon such flowers as the 



^. -. -.^ Chrysanthemums for the beauty of our flower-beds, the 



fiist named furnishing an almost infinite variety, both in shades of color 

 and st} les of flower. Some of the dwarf kinds appear like a gathered 

 bouquet, so closely are the flowers crowded together. Whatever the style of 

 flower, the\ all require the same treatment. The seeds should be started in a 

 bed or box prepared for the purpose, and from there transplanted to where 

 they are to bloom, before they begin to grow or start their flow-er-stalks. They 

 can be placed a foot apart, in rows, if it is desired, or set singly for specimen 

 plants. Water should be su]5plied them until well established, and in August a 

 dressing of manure, w-ith occasional supplies of manure-water. This treatment will give 

 an increase of flowers, as well as improve their quality. Any favorite may be potted 

 before frost, to finish its bloom in the house. In saving seeds, the outside rows would be 

 the best developed and ripest. A friend who is eminently successful in Aster culture pulls 

 the plants from which seeds are desired before frost, and hangs them up by the roots, so 

 that the sap will go into the ripening seeds as they <lry. 



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