No. 133.] 249 



ANEMONE. 

 The seed of this flower should be sown in August. It will 

 come up in about two and a half to three months and not sooner, 

 very often it will remain in the ground all winter and come up 

 in the following spring. The seeds can only be obtained from 

 the single flower — for the double ones are all petals. The seed 

 is covered with a down which renders it troublesome to plant. 

 We remedy this by mixing it with fine sand and then rubbing it 

 for a length of time in our hands and thus rub off the down. 

 This flower does better in boxes and pots than in the open gar- 

 den. 



ASTER. 



Who does not know the Chinese Aster under its common title 

 of Queen Margaret 1 This beautiful plant so rich in its flowers 

 so varied in colors so like the plume — it is indispensible to our 

 parterres. Flowering in succession for two months without inter- 

 ruption. Even the firsts frost of autumn do not stop the flower- 

 ing of some of the more robust kinds. 



jYoie hy Meigs. — The exhibition of Asters in Boston, has been 

 exqui:^itely beautiful in my view and those of my garden were 

 more admired than any other flower. 



PELARGONIUM. 



The name given to this kind of flower by a German botanist 

 by the name of Burman is derived from the Greek word sygnify- 

 ing the bird called a Stork, because it is supposed to resemble 

 the bill of that bird in the long conical pointed capsule which 

 contains the seed. This plant is a true conquest of human art. 

 The original flower does not approach the beauty of those num- 

 berless sorts obtained by hybrid crossing. These flowers require 

 great care. The finest one in the best of health and most splendid 

 flowering — perishes in a few days if neglected. They are almost 

 all from the Cape of Good Hope originally — wild ones are found 

 in some parts of Australia and Polynesia and latterly in St. He- 

 lena and the islands of the Canaries, the number of botanical 

 species is great. In 1824 Decandolle counted 369. Ii: 1839 Rob- 



