THE FLORISTS MANUAL. 



23 



Asparagus Sprcngeri. 



The aspleniums in general produce 

 spores quite freely, and A. bulbiferum 

 is no exception to the rule, but as the 

 spores are somewhat slow in germina- 

 tion, the process above described is 

 probably more often used. No special 

 treatment is called for in growing this 

 fern, and young plants grow nicely in 

 company with Adiantum cuneatum 

 and Pteris serrulata, though possibly 

 enjoying a little more shade than is 

 absolutely necessary for those species. 



W. H. T. 



ASTER. 



A large genus, mostly hardy peren- 

 nials, widely spread throughout the 

 world. Many of them belong to North 

 America and are the flowers of our 

 fields, and of these many are worthy a 

 place in the hardy garden. It is in the 

 annual, the chinensis, section that we 

 are interested. 



Of all our so-called hardy annuals 

 the Aster takes the leading place. 

 Most all of our customers want a few. 

 They are planted in the mixed border, 

 or occupy whole beds, and with the 

 commercial florist who grows for cut 

 flowers they are a leading article. To 

 obtain a good strain and cultivate 

 them well is a matter of great import- 

 ance to many of us. From the middle 

 of July till frost cuts them off they 

 are a prominent feature in all our 

 flower stores. 



Twenty years ago the raising of as- 

 ter seed was left largely to the Conti- 

 nental Europeans, but now-a-days as 

 good a strain as exists can be obtain- 

 ed here, and any of us who has the 

 time and industry can save his own 

 aster seed. The finest flowers of the 

 purest colors should be marked and 

 tied and allowed to get thoroughly 

 ripe, when the stalks can be cut and 

 put away in a cool, dry place and the 

 seeds separated at your leisure. 



In the following directions for the 

 raising of the young plants from the 

 seed to planting time I have endeavor- 

 ed to be explicit, as the same rules 

 will apply to the raising of other an- 

 nuals, such as stocks, zinnias, phlox, 

 etc., and to which in their order I 

 shall refer the reader to asters for di- 

 rections for raising the young plants. 



The seed should be last year's crop; 

 older seed may grow but it is not to 

 be depended upon. Successive crops 

 may be wanted, or some early flowers 

 grown under glass, so sowing can be 

 done from middle of February till 

 middle of April and even later. Sow 

 in pans, or, if large quantities are 

 wanted, in flats two inches deep. Al- 

 ways sow in colors. Fill the flats about 

 even full with a light soil to which has 

 been added a fourth of very rotten 

 stable manure or thoroughly rotted 

 leaf-mould, then press down with a 

 piece of board or a block, which will 



carry the soil down half an inch be- 

 low top of flat. Then with a fine rose 

 or sprinkler on the watering pot (or, 

 to save labor we have the sprinkler 

 screwed on the end of a %-inch hose), 

 give the soil in the flats a good water- 

 ing, sufficient to wet the soil through 

 to the bottom. In half an hour sow 

 the seed. Why we wait is to give the 

 soil time to dry on the surface so that 

 the seed can be lightly pressed into 

 the soil with the board without the 

 soil sticking to it. After we press the 

 seed down we sift over the covering of 

 soil. Whatever soil you use for cover- 

 ing it should not be of a texture that 

 will bake and form a crust. Loam and 

 leaf-mould, half and half, will do for 

 the majority of seeds. Sifted Jadoo is 

 also excellent but for asters a covering 

 of the same material that the seeds are 

 sown in is good enough. It should be 

 finely and evenly sifted on. 



The question is often discussed as 

 to how deep seeds should be covered. 

 As a rule the covering may be about 

 the thickness of the seed, but we are 

 sure that many seeds sown outside are 

 covered six times their depth. With 

 the aster and similar seeds we sift the 

 compost on till all the seeds are out of 

 sight, and that is sufficient. Another 

 pressing down of the covering and the 

 least amount of watering will do as 

 you now have only that thin surface 

 covering to wet. The thickness of the 

 seed in the fiat or pan must be entirely 

 a matter of judgment, and since it is 

 poor economy to sow very thickly to 

 save space, as the seeds occupy a com- 

 paratively small space. I would say 

 that if with asters every seed had a lit- 

 tle square of one-eighth of an inch to 

 itself it would be about the ideal way 

 of sowing it, but spacing that or any 

 of our seeds is out of the question. 

 You had better err, however, on the 

 safe side and sow thinly, for if crowd- 

 ed at the start it is a poor beginning 

 for the little plant. 



Seed when first sown (contrary to 

 plants, which it does not hurt to let 

 get on the dry side and then copiously 

 water) should be kept at an even de- 

 gree of moisture with no extremes. 

 The flats should be kept in a shady 

 place till the seedlings are above 

 ground when they should get the full 

 light and not be allowed to draw up 

 for want of light and ventilation. 

 When well up less watchfulness is ne- 

 cessary. A temperature of 55 degrees 

 at night brings up the seed nicely and 

 keeps the young plants growing till 

 time to transplant into flats or into 

 the hot-bed or bench. 



As soon as they have made the first 

 character leaf they should be trans- 

 planted. This is an operation that 

 should be done very quickly but should 

 be well done, which is more essential. 

 While the little plant is held by the 

 tips of the leaves by one hand, a rath- 

 er blunt stick, held in the other, makes 

 a hole in the soil into which let the 

 roots of the plant hang down straight, 

 and then with the stick press the soil 

 around the roots. The plant should be 

 so far in the ground that its seed 



