A nn uals and Biennials. 597 



rule, there are from half-a-dozen to a dozen plants where there 

 is only space for one, and the consequence is mutual starvation. 

 "Watering should be carefully done with a fine rose when really 

 necessary, but it is better not to water, especially on a stiff soil 

 liable to cake, except during a prolonged drought. In the 

 summer, when the plants are grown up, frequent waterings in 

 dry weather will, however, prove beneficial. The removal of the 

 seed-vessels will prolong the flowering season of many species, 

 not only of this, but of all other classes. 



Half-hardy annuals require raising in artificial heat, or where 

 there is at least sufficient protection to exclude frost. They 

 should be sown in March or April, and planted out at the same 

 time as the bedding plants, about the middle of May. The 

 same treatment may be adopted for these, as recommended 

 under General Eemarks for perennials, except that there is less 

 necessity for a second frame or pit to remove them to according 

 as they come up. Care should be taken not to remove them 

 suddenly from a hot-bed to a cold pit. A very gentle heat is all 

 that is required, and gradual hardening off is imperative before 

 transferring them to their quarters in the open air. To obtain 

 good strong plants the seedlings should be potted off when 

 they are quite small, placing about three or four in a six-inch 

 pot, and it should be borne in mind that a few vigorous plants 

 will make a finer display than a great many weakly ones. The 

 beds or borders should be renovated during the winter, and it 

 is always better not to grow the same description of plants in 

 the same places year after year. Asters, Zinnias, French and 

 African Marigolds, Helichrysum bracteatum, Phlox Drum- 

 mondii, ornamental Grourds, and most of the herbaceous climbers 

 come under this head. 



Biennials offer less variety, and only the hardy species are 

 generally cultivated. Some, it is true, are treated as annuals, 

 but the majority must be sown towards the end of summer, in 

 order to flower the following spring. Brompton and Queen 

 Stocks, Honesty, Hollyhock, and the Common Wallflower are 

 familiar examples of the hardy members of this class. The 

 Wallflowers are really perennial, but young plants flower more 

 profusely than old ones. The double-flowered varieties of the 

 Wallflower are propagated from cuttings, and the Hollyhock 

 from offsets. Hurnea elegans is one of the most desirable of 

 tender biennials. It may be treated as an annual if sown early 

 in the year, but it neither grows so strong, nor flowers so freely 

 as when raised during the preceding season. 



