ABOUT FRUITS, FLOWERS AND FARMING. 351 



lorn ia annuals. L. mutabills and Cruicsfiankii are splen- 

 did plants, growing to the height of four or live feet, and 

 branching like miniature trees. L. Polyphyllus and its 

 varieties are perennials, and they are splendid and vigorous- 

 grn\\ -m'jf plants, with spikes of flowers from one foot to 

 eighteen inches in length; L. nootkatensis is a handsome 

 <lw:rf perennial, and L. arboreus, when trained against a 

 wall, will attain six feet in height, and in sheltered situations 

 it will grow with equal vigor trained as a bush tied to a 

 stake; L. latifolius is a perennial from California, with 

 very long spikes of blue flowers. All the species will 

 thrive in common garden soil ; the annuals are propagated 

 by seed sown in February or March, and the perennials by 

 division of the roots." 



PREPARATION OF SEED FOR SOWING. 



MANY persons suppose that when seeds have been select- 

 ed, nothing is necessary but to put them into the ground 

 just as they are. A careful preparation of seed, both for 

 field or garden use, will add much to the success of a 

 planting. 



1. ASSORTING SEEDS. In every lot of seed there are 

 many imperfect ones ; some are insectiferous, some are un- 

 ripe, some are the extreme terminal seeds, small and weak, 

 some are very often a little moldy. In some way all de- 

 fective seeds should be removed. 



Then it should be remembered, that the soundest and 

 largest seeds will produce plants of a corresponding vigor, 

 and that by planting only the healthiest, the variety is kept 

 pure or even improved. 



For garden use hand picking will suffice. \Ve pour our 

 com on a table, and select only the kernels which are plump 

 and large, rejecting any which show an intermixture ol 



