8G FARM HOMES, IN-DOORS AND OUT-DOORS. 



path. The path, or walk, must be wide enough for two 

 people to walk side by side without brushing against the 

 flowers. It should be paved with brick, or large, flat 

 stones, or hardened with gravel, or neatly planked, 

 plank being least desirable, because it so soon decays and 

 becomes unwholesome from the dampness and mould be- 

 neath it. Bricks set edgewise make a good border for 

 the beds, or large, smooth pebbles, or narrow planking 

 can be used. Narrow strips of turf, if kept in " living 

 green," and neatly clipped, make a pretty edge, but it 

 will require care. 



In February or March, according to latitude, seeds 

 should be ordered, and such as require it should be 

 started in boxes in the house, so that by the time spring 

 is fairly begun, and the ground is warm, the young plants 

 will be all ready for their out-door quarters. Nearly all 

 annuals, in the Northern States, should be started m the 

 house. This process makes them several weeks earlier, 

 when, if they are sown late in the open ground, the Sep- 

 tember frosts often come to cut them down just as they 

 have unfolded into beautiful bloom. 



HABDY BULBS AND PLANTS. 



From a list of Hardy Bulbs select a few desirable ones, 

 and plant them in the borders six or seven feet apart, 

 which will leave space for the annuals. These plants, 

 aside from a yearly enriching of the soil, plenty of water 

 during their flowering season, and an occasional dividing 

 of roots, need scarcely any attention, which fact, com- 

 bined with the great beauty and fragrance of the kinds 

 here mentioned, makes them actually necessary to every 

 flower-lover's happiness. Of good Lilies, especially, one 

 cannot have too many. A few years ago when fresh from 

 Japan, they were sold only at very high prices, but now 

 they are offered at such low figures that every garden 

 should have one, at least, from this glorious family. 



