WINTER BLOOM. 75 



of old plants, and they may also be raised from seeds. 

 With seeds from a good " strain," as the gardeners say, 

 i. e. 9 saved from choice and desirable flowers, you may 

 possibly raise a new and superior variety. The seeds are 

 very minute, and need to be merely pressed into the soil ; 

 lay a piece of porous paper over the surface, and water the 

 paper ; this will keep the seeds from being washed away. 

 It takes about three weeks for them to germinate ; when 

 the little plants begin to appear, remove the paper, and 

 after that, water as gently as possible. "When large 

 enough to handle, each little primrose must be put in a 

 little pot by itself, to be followed by a larger one when 

 the plant needs it. Seeds sown in June and July, will 

 give plants that will flower the next winter. But instead 

 of caring for the young seedlings you may prefer to get 

 plants ready grown from the florist indeed this is the 

 only way to be sure of double ones, or of any particular 

 variety ; in this case, be sure and get them early in the 

 fall, before they have been exposed to the warm and moist 

 atmosphere of the greenhouse, and it will be all the 

 better if the flower cluster has not begun to push up- 

 wards at all. If plants that have been forced until they 

 are nearly ready to flower, are taken to your greenery, 

 they will show their dislike of the change by refusing to 

 bloom at all, but if placed at the window before they 

 have been pampered, they will flower freely. 



All the plants best adapted to winter-flowering, whether 

 mentioned here or not, require about the same kind of 

 preparatory treatment, which, as already described, has 

 in view the formation of vigorous roots after a period of 

 rest. For this purpose they should be selected early in 

 the season, so as to become well established before winter. 

 But without such special and extended preparation, many 

 of the common bedding plants, as I have already hinted, 

 may be brought into service by simply prolonging their 

 period of bloom. This can be done more effectually if 



