996 
Pansy 
Viola tricolor 
The pansy, sometimes called heart’s- 
ease, is a favorite with almost everyone. 
It is a plant that demands more than 
ordinary attention, but none repays such 
attention more liberally. For very early 
outdoor bedding the seed is sown in the 
autumn—September—in a cold frame, or 
in rich, moist garden beds, from which 
the plants can be transferred to a cold 
frame, setting them two or three inches 
apart each way before severe winter 
weather begins. In spring three-fourths 
of them can be lifted out for bedding, 
and the rest left to bloom in the frame. 
For winter bloom in a frame, set the 
plants about twice as far apart, and thin 
out half of them in spring. Cover the 
blooming plants with sash, adding a cov- 
ering of matting or straw in very cold 
weather. In mild weather remove the 
mats and lift the sashes to admit light 
and fresh air and to prevent the plants 
from becoming drawn. In outdoor beds 
raised a few inches above the ground, 
with a mulch of dry leaves and some 
brush to hold them in place, pansies will 
often winter nicely and bloom until mid- 
summer, when a relay of young, vigor- 
ous plants should be ready to replace 
them. 
Spring sowings should be made early, 
so as to secure good flowers during the 
early rains. Seed sown in a cool, moist 
place in June and July, and well tended, 
will give good flowering plants for fall. 
If they come into bloom in the heat of 
summer the flowers may be small at first, 
but as the weather becomes cooler they 
will increase in size and beauty. Through 
summer heat the flowers are finer in a 
somewhat shaded place, but in almost any 
situation good pansy seed will give fine 
flowers in spring and fall. WHarly fall 
sowings give the finest spring flowers. 
Petunia 
Because of the ease and facility with 
which all of the single-flowered varieties 
of the petunia can be grown from seed 
this plant commands attention as a 
worthy candidate for the summer flower 
garden. The young plants grow rapidly 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
and come into bloom early, and in addi- 
tion to this they furnish a continuous 
wealth of blossoms until destroyed by 
frost. The large-flowered strains are very 
beautiful and of great variety. While the 
Single sorts are common and inexpensive, 
the double giant-flowered varieties are 
rendered expensive because they must be 
reproduced from seed which sets only 
after careful hand pollination of the flow- 
ers, which is in itself an expensive oper- 
ation, or from cuttings, of which an in- 
dividual plant can supply but a limited 
number. 
For best results the seeds of all sorts 
should be sown in a gentle hotbed, cold 
frame, or in fine soil in a box placed in 
a sunny window in March or early in 
April for localities north of Washington, 
D. ©. When the soil has warmed suf- 
ficiently and the danger of frost has 
passed, the seedling plants should be 
transplanted to a rich garden loam and 
placed about a foot apart each way. The 
seed of the double varieties is less vigor- 
ous than that of the single sorts and 
therefore requires more attention to pre- 
vent extremes of temperature and of 
moisture to insure good germination. If 
the seeds are sown in boxes in the liv- 
ing room, a pane of glass may with ad- 
vantage be kept over the top to maintain 
a close atmosphere, and thus prevent the 
loss of moisture until the young plants 
are well out of the ground. In planting, 
the seeds should be scattered over the 
surface of the soil and brought in con- 
tact with it by firming. They should not, 
like most other seeds, be covered. 
Petunias are attractive in beds and 
masses, serve well for broad borders or 
bands and thrive well in window boxes. 
They are not exacting as regards soil 
conditions, thriving well in almost any 
arable soil, and they endure drought well 
and bloom profusely. 
Phiox 
Phiox drummondii 
The annual phlox, sometimes called 
flame flower, is particularly useful and 
attractive when sown in masses or ribbon 
beds of contrasting colors. Few annual 
plants are more easily grown from seed, 
