i6 4 MORE POT-POURRI 



intelligence can never be left out of this kind of study. 

 Mr. Thompson is also exceedingly obliging about procuring 

 the seeds of certain wild plants which may not be in his 

 catalogue, but Which are very desirable to grow in rather 

 large gardens where there is room, such as Tussilago 

 fragrans and Iris fatidissima. What amateurs find most 

 difficult in arranging herbaceous borders even more diffi- 

 cult than colour itself is to acquire sufficient knowledge 

 of plants to judge of their strength and robustness, and 

 above all of their relative height. Putting Mr. Robinson 

 aside, the only book I know that is full of instruction, 

 particularly in this respect, is the one I named before with 

 great appreciation, ' The Botanic Garden,' by B. Maund. 

 Gardeners and amateurs who are really interested in 

 the subject are beginning to discover that to grow many 

 plants successfully, especially in light sandy or gravelly 

 soils, you must grow them from seed in the same air and 

 soil in which they are expected ultimately to succeed. 

 For this you must have three or four small pieces of 

 ground given up to the purpose some dry, some wet, 

 some sunny, some shady, and which will require nothing 

 but weeding and thinning. Seed-sowing, like all other 

 planting, requires a great deal of thought and considera- 

 tion. Some grow up in a few days and, every seed 

 having germinated, require much thinning, however much 

 you may imagine you have sown thinly enough. Some 

 seedlings will transplant perfectly, and not suffer at all in 

 the move ; others must be sown in place at all risks. 

 One seed-bed is required that can be left entirely alone 

 for (say) two years, except for just breaking with a hand- 

 fork and weeding, as some seeds germinate very slowly. 

 Where this is known to be the case, with large foreign 

 seeds it is well before sowing to soak them for twenty- 

 four hours in warm water and a little oil or even to 

 puncture the hard skin, as with Cannas. For instance, 



