II 



OCTOBER 



COSMOS: A BEAUTIFUL ANNUAL 



The cosmos is one of the most satisfactory annuals for the 

 border garden, both on account of the grace of its foliage 

 and the beauty of its blossoms. It may be grown as easily 

 as any of the garden vegetables, and may be used to great 

 advantage along fences, walls, and the sides of buildings. 

 By choosing the tall varieties to plant next to the wall or 

 fence, and the dwarf varieties to plant in front, one may get 

 most beautiful effects during the latter part of the season, 

 the flowers of the dwarf forms beginning practically at the 

 ground and extending upward for many feet with a back- 

 ground of attractive foliage that helps in the display. 



The seed of the cosmos may be started in a hot-bed, green- 

 house, or window garden early in the season and trans- 

 planted out of doors when danger of frost is past; or the seeds 

 may be planted in a drill out of doors in May and the young 

 seedlings transplanted, when they are two or three inches 

 high, to the place where they are to grow. These seedlings 

 are vigorous little plants with a compact root system, so that 

 they are very easy to transplant. In a rich soil and with 

 plenty of moisture they grow with great rapidity, sending up 

 fine, fernlike foliage which gives an attractive effect long 

 before the flowers appear. Even the buds have a decidedly 

 decorative value, being rounded in general outline, though 

 flattened on the outer end and more or less enclosed by a 



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