102 BRECK’S NEW BOOK OF FLOWERS. 
in bloom. This succeeds best when sown late in autumn 
or very early in the spring. The seed may be sown in 
drills, eight or ten inches apart, in beds, and the plants 
well thinned out. Larkspur, and many other hardy annual 
seeds, if sown late in autumn, lie dormant all winter, and 
give much stronger plants than the same kinds of seed 
sown very early in the spring, notwithstanding those sown 
in the spring may appear above ground as soon as those 
sown in autumn. The reason probably is, that the au- 
tumnal sown seeds are so prepared, by the action of the 
frost, that they start with greater vigor, and consequently 
are more robust than the spring sown seeds. 
Some seeds are difficult to germinate. Cypress-Vine is 
an example, the seeds of which require scalding, to facili- 
tate germination ; or, if the hull is carefully taken off with 
a penknife, so as not to injure the germ, the object is ef- 
fected, and it will immediately vegetate. The seed of 
Gomphrena globosa (Globe Amaranth) is encased in a 
thick coating of woolly substance, which greatly retards 
vegetation. If this be taken off with the hull, the germ 
will push immediately; or, if the seed is soaked in milk 
twenty-four hours before planting, it will soon start; but, 
if planted with the coating on, or without soaking, very 
few will appear above ground. 
As a general rule, the depth of planting flower seeds is 
to be governed by their size. For example, the Sweet Pea 
and Lupine may be planted an inch deep, and so in propor- 
tion. Annuals have a pleasing effect when planted in masses, 
particularly when the pleasure-ground is extensive, For this 
purpose, the Verbenas, of various colors, Portulacas, Ne- 
mophila, Phlox Drummondii, Coreopsis Drummondii, Can- 
dy-tufts, and many other dwarf plants, are desirable. Beds 
of any of these, or others of similar habit, in a well-managed 
lawn, are very ornamental. The beds should be either 
round, oval, starry, or irregular; but never square, dia- 
