302 



HORTICULTURE. 



be planted deep, not being covered more than an inch. 

 In Februar y tne flowers begin to appear; in March 

 they are in glory ; and by the end of April the seeds 

 begin to ripen. In good seasons these arc produced 

 plentifully, and by means of them new varieties may 

 be procured. The leaves of most of the species grow 

 chiefly after the flowering is over : these should not be 

 cut, as is often done, the bulbs being thereby deprived 

 of much of their nourishment; they may, however, 

 very properly be tied up. 



Annual Floivcrs. 



Annual 519. Many of these are very l>eautiful ; and in fine 



flowers. flower-gardens, they not only appear in patches on the 



borders, but some of the elegant sorts are cultivated 



in beds in a separate compartment, called the Annual 



Flower-garden. 



'They are commonly divided into Hardy, Less hardy, 

 and Tender. The hardy are sown in the spring, in 

 the natural ground, where they are to remain ; the less 

 hardy are raised on a slight hot-bed, and planted out 

 in April and May ; and the tender require to be passed 

 through two nursery beds before planting in the open 

 border, and in the northern parts of Britain they are 

 kept almost always under glass. In this place only a 

 few of the most beautiful or curious of each of these 

 divisions can be named. Pretty ample and correct tabu- 

 lar lists of them may be found in Abercrombie's Prac- 

 tical Gardener, under the head Flower-garden. 

 Hardy 520. Of the Hardy Annuals, different species of 



annual Adonis are showy, none more so than the Pheasant's- 

 flowers. eye, A. autumnalis : this, if not a native, lias become 

 completely naturalized in fields near London, and quan- 

 tities of the flowers are every summer sold in the city 

 by the name of Red Moroccp. Several species of Snap- 

 dragon {Antirrhinum] ; white and purple Candytuft 

 (Iberis umbellata) ; Lobel's Catchfly, red and white 

 (Silene armeria); Venus' Looking glass {Campanula spe- 

 culum) ; with the purple and the red topped Clary (Sal- 

 via horminum~), are very ornamental. Varieties of the 

 Convolvulus major and minor, and of the Bluebottle 

 (Centaurea cyanus), with the Sweet Sultan ('. mos- 

 chata) ; the Fennel-flower (Nigella damascena), with 

 many sorts of Scabious (Scabiosa), and the well known 

 Stock Gillyflower {Mathioln incana'), deserve cultiva- 

 tion. The Yellow Balsam (Impaiicms noli tangere) is re- 

 markable for its ripe capsules exploding the seede upon 

 being touched ; it thus sows itself, and should therefore 

 be placed in a by-corner. The yellow blossoms of the 

 Bladder Ketmia or Flower of an hour, {Hibiscus irionum) 

 are extremely perishable if the sun be bright, but they 

 are produced in long succession. Many varieties of Lark- 

 spur (Delphinium Ajacis), single and double, branched 

 or with simple stems; with several kinds of Lupine 

 (Lupinus), and of Sweet Pea (I,aihyrus odoratus) are 

 well known, and very ornamental. The varieties of 

 Carnation Poppy (Papaver somniferum) are very showy; 

 they are generally allowed to sow themselves. Straw- 

 berry Elite (Blitum capitatum ) is a curious plant, the 

 fruit resembling strawberries, only however in appear- 

 ance. Belvedere ( Chenopodium Scoparia) is a hand- 

 some plant, resembling in its close pyramidal shape a 

 dwarfish cypress-tree ; from which circumstance it is 

 often called Summer cypress. The Caterpillar (Scor- 

 piurus vermiculala) , Hedgehog, and Snail plants (Me- 

 dicfgo inlerlexta and scutellata ) have no beauty, but 

 are remarkable on account of their vermiform pods. 

 The Eternal Flower (Xcrantkemum) is excelled by 



5 



none, and there arc red, white, purple 1 , and blue varie- 

 ties of it. Mignonette {Eeseda odorata) is universally Garden, 

 liked; it is generally sown in large patches, or an en- !T""" Y 7"" 

 tire border is filled with it, commonly in front of the f) " ers. 

 conservatory or green-house. 



I lardy annual plants are generally sown in circular 

 patches, traced with a hand-trowel, with which, at the 

 same time, the earth is broken small. A bit of stick is 

 placed as a mark in the centre of each patch. Usually 

 two or three successive sowings are made, from th> 

 middle of March to the inidrll* --* 1 "-v> "'"= season of 

 flowerir..^ U-;,-K iiius prolonged. The plants must af- 

 terwards be thinned, according to the nature of their 

 growth, the belvedere, the sunflower, and some others 

 standing quite detached. After thinning, a plentiful 

 watering is proper, in order to settle the earth about 

 those that remain ; and in dry weather, frequent water- 

 ing will ensure the production of much finer and strong- 

 er plants. Most of the kinds bear transplanting in 

 dull and showery weather. The tall-growing plants 

 should of course be placed in the back part of the bor- 

 der ; the low-growing in front. When the flowering 

 is nearly over, some of the earliest and strongest plants 

 should be marked for affording a supply of seed, and 

 should, if tall, be tied to stakes to prevent their be- 

 ing broken, or falling down. It often happens that 

 some of the kinds spring up i" tl> borJoi-o *v^ m occdu 

 sown naturally the former year ; from these the best 

 and ripest seed may be expected. 



521. The list of Less /tardy annual plants embraces Less haitly 

 many fine flowers, such as different varieties of the annual 

 African Marigold ( Tageies crecla], and of the French ' 

 Marigold ('I. patti/a) ; the Amaranth or Love lies bleed- 

 ing (Amaranthus caudatus), and Prince's Feather (A. 

 hypochondrincus) ; the rich and elegant Balsams, many 

 varieties, (Impatient- balsamina) ; different kinds of 

 Chrysanthemum, particularly C. tricolor, and also of 

 Zinnia ; with the Indian corn (Zca mays], and Tobacco 



plant (Nicotiaita tabacum), which are curious. For 

 these and others a moderate hot bed is necessary, on 

 which they may be sown in March or April, so as to 

 be ready for transplanting into the borders in May or 

 June. It is better, however, instead of removing the 

 seedlings at once to the open border, to prick them into 

 a nursery border, covered with a canvas awning, or 

 hooped over and protected by mats at night : here they 

 may be allowed to establish themselves and get hardy, 

 for some weeks. In dry weather, frequent watering 

 is essential, especially at the times of transplanting. 



522. The list ot rentict ! P lnr,tQ ; not nume- Tender an- 

 rous, unless the balsam and some others from the less nuainow.rs. 

 hardy list be included, which in the northern part of 



the island is always the case. Many varieties of Cock's- 

 comb (Celosia cristata), with scarlet, purple, and yellow 

 heads, some of the plants dwarfish, others three or four 

 feet high, are exceedingly ornamental. The Globe- 

 amaranth (Gompkrama globosa') of various sorts, with 

 the Amaranthus tricolor, having each leaf composed of 

 three colours, bright red, yellow and green, are like- 

 wise among the more showy of the tender annual 

 flowers. The Egg-plant deserves the same character ; 

 not on account of its flower, but of its singular and 

 elegant berry, which has much of the shape and ap- 

 pearance of a large egg, as already noticed (403). 

 The Ice-plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum), re- 

 markable for its stalks and leaves being covered with 

 crystalline globules like small icicles, and the well- 

 known Humble plant (Mimosa pudica), may also be 

 mentioned. These are raised, in March, in a small 



