AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



yellow, orange, flesh, rose, carmine, scarlet, crim- 

 son, violet, lilac, and purple, and there is also a 

 striped form called Zebra, a cone-shaped speci- 

 men known as the Pompon, and a Curled and 

 Crested variety. In my experience but a small 

 percentage of the colors come true from seed, 

 and I find it quite as well to purchase the mixed 

 seeds instead of the separate colors. A large 

 flowering strain called Rohusta ■plenissima, or Giant 

 Mammoth, grows about three feet high, and is 

 said to bear flowers five or six inches in diameter. 

 It is an excellent variety, and I have grown it for 

 several years, but I never yet saw a flower that 

 approached the advertised size, although the soil 

 and location were the best possible for growing 

 Zinnias. There are some dwarf varieties also, 

 among them being Double Liliput, Fairy 

 Gem, and Miniature. The latter grows but 

 four inches high, and is only a curiosity, the 

 flowers being small. There are some attractive 

 features about the other dwarf forms, as they are 

 hardly as rank in growth as the type, and the 

 flowers are fuller and richer. The Zinnia is a 

 tender annual, and the seeds cannot be sown in 

 the fall. It is the usual practice, I think, to sow 

 them in boxes in March or April, and not to set 



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