SUCCESS WITH FLOWER SEEDS. 



Provided the soil is in a proper state, flower seeds may be sown in the open 

 border in the months of April and May. The seeds should be sown as soon as 

 the soil becomes dry and easily crumbled, after the spring frosts have disappeared. 

 They may also be sown in prepared beds of light, rich soil, and transplanted into 

 the garden. The former is the more simple method , but not always as satisfactory. 

 The better plan is to bow all fine seeds under glass in a greenhouse, hot-bed, or 

 in the house. As to the depth to which seeds should be covered, the best general 

 rule is to cover fine seeds very lightly, just enough to protect them from the sun ; 

 and in extremely dry weather a sprinkling of damp moss is very useful. With 

 very fine seeds it is best to sow on the surface, and press them slightly into the 

 soil. We are convinced that one of the most frequent causes of failure is in sow- 

 ing the seeds too deep, and seedsmen are unjustly censured, when the fault lies 

 with the cultivator. 



For sowing seeds, shallow boxes 2 to 3 inches deep, and covered with a light 

 of glass and with open seams at the bottom, so that the water can drain through 

 quickly, are best. (These we keep in stock all ready for use.) The best soil is a 

 mixture of equal parts of sand, leaf-mold, and fight, rich garden loam, which 

 should be thoroughly mixed and passed through a coarse sieve ; then fill your 

 pots, pans, or boxes within half an inch of the rim ; press the soil firmly and evenly. If the soil is dry it is best to water 

 freely a day or two before sowing the seed, to enable the surplus water to drain off After they are sown cover slightly 

 with fine soil, carefully water with a fine rose or spray. When they are designed to be grown in the house, the temper- 

 ature should be as near 60 degrees as possible ; place them in a fight window facing south or east. 



The importance of uniform attention to watering may be best learned by experience and observation, but the inex- 

 perienced cultivator may be reminded that to omit a single watering and allow the young plant-germs from seed to 

 remain in a parched state, or a too frequent, indiscriminate watering, usually leads to the eventual loss of the whole. 



As soon as the plants are large enough to handle, prick them into other boxes or pots, placing them about 1 inch 

 apart each way ; they must be shaded for a few days from the sun, until they are established. When large enough they 

 can be potted in small pots, and kept until the proper season for planting in the garden. 



WHY SEEDS FAIL. 



From a conviction that the Seedsman's fair reputation is often unjustly defamed, through the failure of seeds, we would 

 briefly state some of the causes. 



Some cultivators, through ignorance or forgetfulness of the fact that the products of a garden, being natives of 

 various soils and climates, require peculiar management, sow the seeds in the ground at improper seasons. To aid such 

 we have prepared brief directions, founded on practical experience in the vicinity of Philadelphia, where gardening 

 operations are generally commenced early in March. These directions may, however, be applied to all other parts of the 

 United States, by an observance of the difference in temperature. Thus, to the North, the directions for March will 

 apply to April ; and in the South to January, February, or whatever season gardening operations may commence in the 

 respective States. The early and most hardy species and varieties should not be planted until the ground can be brought 

 into good condition, as some species of plants, that in an advanced stage of growth will stand a hard winter, are often cut 

 off by a very slight frost wlule young, especially if exposed to the sun after a frosty night. 



Some species of seed, such as Beans, Beet, Cabbage, Lettuce, Radish, Salsify, Turnip, etc., being from their nature 

 apt to vegetate quickly, are often destroyed while germinating through variableness of the weather, and some are liable 

 to be devoured by insects in forty-eight hours after they are sown, and before a plant is seen above the ground, unless a 

 suitable remedy is applied in time to destroy the insects. 



Other species, such as Carrots, Celery, Leek, Onion, Parsley, Parsnip, Spinach, etc., being naturally of tardy growth, 

 take (in unfavorable seasons) from two to three or four weeks to vegetate, and are apt to perish through incrustation of 

 the soil, or other untoward and unaccountable circumstances, which cannot always be controlled. 



Failures often occur through seeds being deposited too deeply in the ground, or left too near the surface. Sometimes, 

 for the want of a proper quantity of seed in a given spot, solitary plants will perish, they not having sufficient strength to 

 open the pores of the earth, and very frequently injudicious management in over-manuring and improperly preparing 

 the soil causes defeat. 



In some sowings of seed, made during the dry weather, with a drought following, a total failure often occurs from 

 neglecting to firmly press or roll in the seeds, so that when they germinate the action of the heat and drought may not 

 affect the germ. We are satisfied that thousands of pounds of Turnip, late Cabbage and other summer-sown seeds 

 are annually lost from this neglect. Never tread or roll in the seeds when the ground is wet. 



Do not raise Egg Plants, etc., in the same hot-bed with Cabbage and other half-hardy plants that require air every 

 mild day ; by such management one or the other must suffer — heat being the principal requisite of tender plants, and air 

 that of the more hardy varieties. 



NEW BOOKS. 



We have nowin preparation two new books, entitled, " Open Air Vegetables " and " Grasses and Clovers," like 

 our book "Vegetables Under Qlass " (offered on previous page). These will not be technical, but simple and 

 practical. They will be ready in March. Orders booked before that date will be mailed immediately they are issued. 



Price, 25 cents each. (18) 



