LIST OP FLOWERS 



are half-hardy annuals of dwarf and bushy habit and very free- 

 blooming. They are often used for indoor decoration in spring, and 

 by sowing in pots in August or early September, and protecting the 

 young plants in a cold frame during the winter, they will be ready to 

 bloom indoors in March or April, if assisted by a little manure water 

 or a top-dressing of rich soil. In this group, as in the others, there 

 are many beautiful strains, embracing colours of crimson, scarlet, 

 purple and white. The Brompton and Queen Stocks are char- 

 acterized by their large spikes of bloom and make an effective dis- 

 play during May and June. In mild districts and in a warm soil 

 they may be raised successfully by sowing in the open in July, but 

 it is safer to sow in seed-pans and keep the seedlings under shelter 

 until they are an inch or two high, when they may be transplanted 

 to the border where they are to winter. This transplanting may 

 produce a slight check which is not undesirable, as rapid growth'- 

 at this season is apt to make the young plants too soft and succulent 

 to endure the winter. The colours in both these Stocks are purple, 

 scarlet and white, and in the Brompton variety there is also a car- 

 mine flower. 



STONECROP. See Sedum. 



SUNFLOWER. See Helianthus. 



SWEET PEA. See Lathyrus Odoratus. 



SWEET SULTAN. See Centaurea. 



SWEET WILLIAM. See Dianthus. 



TAGETES. Under this name come the beautiful African and 

 French Marigolds, half-hardy annuals of much value for making a 

 fine display of bloom in late summer. T. erecta, the African variety, 

 produces large hushy plants with flowers of intense orange and yellow 

 in various shades. The flowers may be either double or single, as 

 it seems impossible to reproduce the double form with any certainty. 

 T. patula, the French Marigold, has several forms, the larger sort 

 being somewhat coarse in growth, though producing a fine display 

 of bloom, especially in the double and striped kinds; but ^e dwarf 

 form, growing about 9 inches high, is very useful as a bedding 

 plant and remarkably profuse in flowering. T. signata is another 

 variety of the French Marigold, with small flowers and elegantly- 

 cut leaves, and its strain called pumila is a dwarf form with either 

 orange-yellow or " golden-ring " flowers. Marigolds love a sunny 

 position, are well able to sustain drought, and will thrive in a poor 

 R 257 



