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Cri.TURE OF FAVORITE PLANTS. 



in a fresh, rich compost. The hirp^er bulbs often produce as many as two hundred flowers. 

 The withered flowers should be clipped off, unless seed is desired; of those left for seed 

 the stem will curl until the seed vessel is drawn down into the soil, where they ripen. 

 Propagation otherwise than by seed is ordinarily impracticable with this bulb, as its solid 

 nature almost precludes its division, and only the skilled practitioner can hope for success. 

 When grown from seed it takes three years to bloom, unless specially petted and fostered 

 by some skillful hand, and therefore most amateurs prefer to purchase blooming bulbs. 

 Their chief enemies are mice and excessive moisture. 



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,AISY, from the Saxon, denoting day's eye, because of its habit of 

 opening early in the morning, is a great favorite, as indeed it has 

 been for ages. Whether growing by the roadside, a neglected 

 beauty, or petted and cared for by some flower-loving cottager, its 

 praises have long been sung by the greatest among European poets. 

 In this country the Bellis perennis, or common double European Daisy, 

 is extensively cultivated as a choice exotic; while the whole-leaved species, or B. 

 intei;rifolia, is indigenous from Kentucky southward to the Gulf of Mexico. A 

 heavy clay soil seems to be the natural choice of these simple beauties, but they 

 will grow in almost any soil if supplied freely with water. In shaded nooks thev 

 will retain their flowers a long time, but the direct rays of the sim cause them to 

 prematurely drop both flowers and leaves. The flower of the Daisy in the natural state 

 is single, and borne on the top of a long, slender flower-stalk; but by cultivation it 

 has become double, and has even sported into several curious and beautiful multiplex 

 varieties. They have, however, seen their greatest populaiity in this country. Thc\' can 

 be cultivated in and out of doors, but as house plants must have all the light possible in 

 the winter months. They are easily propagated by divisions of the plant, early in Sep- 

 tember in northern latitudes, the parts thus separated being set two or three inches apart 

 in a sandy loam, with an eastern aspect. They should be protected from a too heavy 

 drenching by rain or otherwise, and for this purpose a gentle, eastward slope is the best 

 site. On the approach of regular frosty weather, they should be covered with a layer 

 of leaves to about six inches in depth, protected by branches of trees from being blown 

 away. When the weather is mild, this covering should be raked off for half a day, and 

 restored before the approach of the night chill, a few times through the winter. Many 

 are kept in garden frames, with only one inch of leaves. 



As has been intimated, there are several varieties in cultivation, a favorite one being 

 known as the Hen and Chickens (scientifically B. prolifera), because of a number of 

 miniature flowers growing around and under the protection of the larger flower. Upon 

 the whole, in the hot, dry climate of this country, the Daisy, in the estimation of some 

 intelligent amateurs, is very unsatisfactory for outdoor cultivation. ,/ 5 



359 ,B_r 



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