238 THE MANSE GARDEN. 



attention should be paid to the scarlet sort, which is 

 by far the finest; but the care to have the seed stock 

 in the neighbourhood of a double flower is a mere 

 fancy, as the double yields no pollen. The virtue 

 of being double is accidental, or perhaps the effect 

 of cultivation in a soil more rich than suits the na- 

 ture of the plant. Sow the seed towards the end of 

 July, or so late, according to the climate, as to avoid 

 shooting for that season. Transfer part of the 

 plants to any spare room in the cauliflower frame, 

 where they will certainly be saved, and afford a most 

 beautiful blow next summer. Part of the plants 

 also may be committed to the open air, some under 

 a north wall and some in the heat and shelter of a 

 south ; for in some seasons the one will prove safest, 

 and in some the other. In this way, manage to 

 have a hundred good plants, which set in spring about 

 twice as thick as common greens, and on ground light- 

 ly manured and prepared by digging before winter. 

 When flowering begins, observe such as threaten to 

 be single, or of inferior colours, and draw them out, 

 making room for the better sorts, which will thus 

 make a splendid appearance and yield the sweetest 

 perfume for a very long period. By sowing very 

 early in a warm place, a fine blow may be had in 

 autumn. But in the common way of giving this 

 plant the same treatment as other annuals, it is as 

 commonly lost ; the flowering comes to nothing the 

 first season, and before seeing another the plant, 

 having begun to shoot, is sure to perish in the frost. 

 Sunflowers. Sow the seed in a warm dry border, 

 much earlier than the general sowing of annuals; 

 and when the plants are two inches high, lift with a 



