THE PRACTICAL FLOWER GARDEN 



Blooms from July until frost, if the dead 

 flowers are kept cut. A wonderful flower, just 

 beginning to be appreciated. There is no 

 annual that more repays the gardener in 

 efl^ectiveness. The tall spikes of bloom are 

 sturdy and healthy, and are one mass of the 

 odd little flowers that give the plant its 

 name. It comes in many colors — deep crim- 

 son, deep yellow, and wonderful orange-brown 

 tones, but the creamy whites and pale pinks 

 are, perhaps, the most enchanting. 



Aster, C h r y s a n t h e m u .m - f l o av e r e d , 

 Branching Peony -flowered. Ostrich 

 Feather, and American. 1 to 3 feet. For 

 early blooming, sow the seeds in a coldframe 

 in April. For late blooming, sow in May, in 

 the open ground. When the seedlings have 

 two leaves, transplant them nine to twelve 

 inches apart, where they are to bloom. They 

 should have rich soil. A little wood-ashes 

 is a good fertilizer. A sure method of de- 

 stroying the black beetles that infest the 

 blossoms is to pick them off, one at a time, 



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