M1GXOXFTTE AZALEAS. 203 



easily as this. The greatest care must be taken in 

 saving seed if you would preserve pure any particular 

 strain, and I find, instead of improving by mixing and 

 promiscuous gathering of seed, that the reverse is the 

 case. A neighbor of mine has a number of hives of bees, 

 and in the early spring the odor of my mignonette 

 attracts them, and they literally swarm among the 

 blooms ; of course if there are any plants of inferior 

 quality in the beds the other plants are thoroughly fer- 

 tilized from them by the bees, and my crop of seed is 

 badly mixed ; hence the importance of weeding out any 

 plants of inferior quality before any blossoms have 

 developed from which you intend saving seed. A notion 

 prevails that home-grown seed is not as good as imported 

 seed. This is sheer nonsense ; it may apply to some 

 varieties of plants, but certainly not to mignonette. 

 When home-grown seed has failed to give satisfaction 

 it is because of lack of pains in harvesting, or poor 

 cultivation." This is true of nearly all seeds ; it is not 

 where it is grown, but what is grown, that determines its 

 value. 



AZALEAS. 



These are grown to a considerable extent as specimen 

 greenhouse plants ; propagated from the young wood in 

 March ; potted and planted out in the open ground in 

 May they make fine plants by fall, but most of the varie- 

 ties do not bloom freely until the second year ; as they 

 can be grown cheaper in Europe, we of late years import 

 nearly all we sell. The Azalea is a plant having very 

 fine roots, and consequently requires a soil composed 

 largely of leaf mould or peat to grow to the best advan- 

 tage. There are now several hundred sorts, many of 

 them of great beauty. They are used to a considerable 

 extent in cut-flower pieces, particularly the white varie- 

 ties, double whites being preferred, as the flowers of 



