ANNUALS 103 



conditions, the seedlings will thrive, but most 

 beginners find it impossible to give the little 

 plants these "right conditions." It is, there- 

 fore, best to give them as short a period in the 

 house as possible and, at the same time, effect 

 a gain in point of early flowering. So, instead 

 of attempting to gain too much time^ which in 

 seven cases out of ten results in absolute fail- 

 ure, it is better to gain, say only three weeks, 

 and have the effort crowned with success. To 

 do this, sow the seeds in the house in the first 

 week of April. There is much expert advice, 

 of course, to the effect that March sowing is 

 none too early, but there are, so far as the ex- 

 periences of beginners are concerned, com- 

 paratively few cases where results from March 

 sowing in the long run equal those of April 

 planting. 



INDOOR SOWING 



The best plan to follow is to adopt the method 

 employed by the florist — sow the seeds in flats. 

 "Flats" are more convenient than mysterious; 

 they are easily made, cheap and admirably 

 adapted to the purpose. They are nothing 

 more than boxes, twelve or eighteen inches wide 

 and twice as long and three or four inches deep. 



