autuiiin^ as soon as it is fully ripe, but spring snwiug' usually 

 answers and is generally practised. Snwiui;- on 1lie open 

 border is not g-(«id practice, but self-snwn plants wliich appear 

 on their own account may always be left to manage their 

 own affairs nutil lar^'e enough to be worth transplanting. 

 Sow in shallow pans or boxes, using for tlic purpose good 

 sandy loam without any manure ; sow witli car", to distriljute 

 the seed evenly and thinly, and cover with a mere dusting 

 of soil. Keep the seed-pans in a frame, and lay slates or 

 squares of glass, or even newspapers, over them to prevenl 

 evaporation, for it is always good jiractice to get uj) seeds 

 by the aid of the original moisture of the snil, without giving 

 any water until the \'ouug plants have made a fair start. .\s 

 soon as the plants ap]icar the coverings must be removed and 

 the frame must be cautiously ventilated, so that by the aid 

 of light and air, without exposure to a roasting sunshine or 

 a frosty east wind, they ma3r grow stout rather than tall, 

 for seedlings that are "drawn" through being kept too 

 close, and lacking light and air, will be weak in proportion 

 to their slenderness, and a very slight ac(.-ident, .such as a 

 little too much water ^hen the weather is cidd, may kill 

 them outright. As hardy plants, larkspurs need no coddling, 

 but protection and encouragement may lie afforded without 

 detriment to their natural vigour. The after-management 

 consists in planting out in other pans or on an open border 

 of kindly soil, to make free growth preparatory to plantmg 

 them out. Where the soil is naturally diy and calcareous, 

 autumn is a good time for transferring them to their per- 

 manent stati(5ns, but where the soil is heav}-, it is advisable 

 to defer the planting until spring, jirovided the nursery bed 

 to which they have been transferred from the frame is well 

 drained and in some degree sheltered. 



