156 GARDENING FOE YOUNG AND OLD. 



superfluous parts. So it is in improving a plant; we make 

 it smaller and more beautiful by breeding off what we do 

 not want, and encouraging the development and growth of 

 those parts which we desire. The Balsam of to-day has 

 branches and leaves so much smaller and finer than those 

 of the old-fashioned Lady's Slipper, that our great-grand- 

 mothers would hardly recognize the plant, the flowers of 

 which are much larger and more handsome than formerly. 

 The Balsam still retains much of its native vigor; it is a 

 healthy, hardy, clean-looking annual; it is transplanted 

 easily, and is a good plant of which to sow a few seeds, 

 [selecting, of course, the choicest varieties,] in a box in the 

 house, and treat the plants as recommended for Asters. 

 With Balsams, as with Asters, it is desirable to get good, 

 stocky plants, and the oftener we transplant them when 

 young, and the more room we give them, the more satis- 

 faction will they give us when set out in the garden. The 

 seed can be sown in the open ground where the plants are 

 to remain, or it may be sown in a warm border, in rows 

 wide enough apart to admit the use of a narrow hoe. 

 Drop two or three seeds to each inch of row, and cover 

 as lightly as possible, if the ground is moist. If the soil 

 is dry, press down the soil after the seed is. sown, by pat- 

 ting the whole surface of the bed with the back of the 

 spade. As soon as the plants appear, hoe lightly between 

 the rows, pulling out all the weeds, and if any of the 

 plants are too thick in some parts of the row, transplant 

 them, either into a new row, or to the first row when 

 there are not enough plants. It is very desirable not to 

 have them too thick, for, as already said, strong, stocky 

 plants are wanted there, and you cannot have such unless 

 they have plenty of room in which to grow. It is not 

 necessary to plant Balsams in a bed by themselves; they 

 look quite as well when set out separately, as when massed 

 together. If there is any part of the flower garden where 

 you do not know what else to set out, put in a Balsam. 



