72 THE FAKM. 



but wheii they are without eyes or buds excepting at their upper ex- 

 tremity, as in. the case of the dahlia and the garden ranunculus, each 

 tuber must be separated from the parent plant entire with its bud. A 

 perfect bulb has a single leading germ ; a tuber has several. 



Herbaceous Plants. — The great majority of plants which ornament ^ 

 the miscellaneous borders of a flower-garden are herbaceous perennials, 

 including under this term bulbs and tubers. 



Plants are called herbaceous when, although their existence may en- 

 dure for a term of years, the stems which support their leaves and 

 flowers, instead of mounting permanently like those of shrubs and 

 trees, die down to the root, or to the tuft of leaves which crowns the 

 root, every winter, to send up fresh stems (if they are not stemless, as 

 is the case with many herbaceous plants) the following spring. 



HARDY ANNUALS, — Fall Sowing. — Hardy annuals may be sown in Sep- 

 tember, and, if lightly covered with litter, the plants will survive the 

 winter. Transplanted in early spring, they come early into bloom. 



The following may be thus sown : sweet alyssum, coreopsis, or cal- 

 liopsis, China aster in varieties, catch-fly, chrysanthemum in varieties, 

 evening primrose, larkspur in varieties, pansy, or heart's-ease, poppy in ' 

 varieties, rocket larkspur. 



How to Sow. — When the seeds of annuals are sown, the ground should 

 first be made firm by pressing it with the saucer of a flower-pot, or the 

 back of the spade ; the seeds should then be sprinkled thinly over the 

 ground, and just covered with fine earth, which should be slightly press- 

 ed down over them. When they come up, if they appear too thick, 

 they should be thinned out so as to leave each plant standing apart ; 

 the distance at which they are left from each other varying, of course, 

 according to the strength and habit of growth of the plant. 



Snails and slugs are dangerous enemies to young and tender annuals, 

 and care should be taken to search for them early in the morning and 

 late in the evening ; or to destroy them by watering the ground with 

 lime-water, so weak as not to disfigure the plants. 



Cultivation. — So much has been heretofore said in this work on ciil- 

 tivation in general, and on the saving and planting of seeds, that we 

 need not here repeat what we have before said, as the principles appli- 

 cable to planting in general apply equally to flowering plants and shrubs. 

 Nor shall we give the lists of flowers — legion in number — which fill our 

 floral books, and which confuse and distract the unpracticed cultivator. 

 We choose rather to present a choice and select list of hardy plants and 

 shrubs — such a list as will neatly and elegantly adorn the homes either 

 of the opulent or the humble, and continue in bloom from May to 

 November. This list will be made up from the works of Delamar, Cob- 

 bett, Loudon, Bridgeman, and others ; and instead of following the 

 classes or divisions of plants as named heretofore, we prefer, for con- 

 venience of reference, to arrange it in alphabetic order. 



SELECT LIST OF FLOWERING PLANTS AND SHRUBS. 



Adlnmia. — A graceful climber. If the seeds are sown in the common 

 border, near a trellis or arbor, in May, the plants will flower finely, ' 

 without any further care the following season. 



