ANNUALS 233 



enable the grower to select those which are best for selling. These 

 should be planted in a frame facing south so that they will catch all 

 of the sunshine available during the Winter months. If pinched 

 back frequently it will induce the plants to make bushy growth 

 before freezing weather; then mulch with leaf soil or old ftianure, 

 giving air whenever the weather will allow. They will throw up 

 an amazing quantity of bloom early in the season, which will pay 

 to cut with the foliage attached so that good long stems can be se- 

 cured. Pansy seed should be sown in very shallow boxes. 



The plants delight in a low temperature and a soil which is open 

 enough to enable the small, succulent roots to ramify freely through 

 it. It is not necessary to have the soil largely of vegetable humus; 

 one that answers well may be made up as follows: Screen some 

 soil through a No. 8 sieve; the rough material which does not go 

 through the meshes put through a No. 3 sieve. This, mixed with 

 leaf soil, to one-third of its bulk, wiU insure a good germination. 

 The idea is to keep the roots in a healthy growing state with abun- 

 dance of air around the seed leaves to prevent damping off. Pansies 

 do better outside during Winter than most people suppose. Planted 

 early with a little mulching, and if the weather gets very severe, 

 some old stable bedding thrown over them, will give all the protec- 

 tion necessary. For plants for Spring sales the seed may be sown 

 late and wintered in coldframes, or it may be sown early in the 

 Spring; but the most satisfactory plants are obtained from early 

 sowing. 



PAP AVER (Poppy). P. Rhceas is the popular Shirley Poppy 

 with most dainty colors and petals the texture of silk. P. somni- 

 ferum is the Opium Poppy, with large, single and double flowers; 

 there are many named varieties which are giants in size and prolific 

 of bloom. 



Propagation. Sow seed very thinly; because the seed is so 

 fine it is usually sown too thickly. Poppies are not readily trans- 

 planted. 



PETUNIAS. Many persons call this the most reliable flower- 

 ing annual. It is only advisable to sow the best strains of the 

 double Petunia seed, as the majority of the seedlings will furnish 

 all the single flowered plants necessary for ordinary use. The 

 doubles can easily be picked out from the singles before the flower- 

 ing period. They are known by their stocky appearance, the singles 

 having a decidedly "annual" look shortly after the seedling stage 

 has been passed. 



