Success with Flower Seeds. 



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

 der 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. Care 

 should be taken not to sow in a crowded border, as light and air are indispensable. 

 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 sow 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 sowing the seeds too deep, and seeds- 

 men 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 light, rich garden loam, which should be thor- 

 oughly 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 dampener, to settle the soil. When they are designed to be grown in the house, the temperature should 



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

 The importance of uniform attention to watering may be best learned hy 



experience and observation, but the inexperienced 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 appear, they 



will require careful attention, as the least overwatering may cause them to 



"damp off," and suddenly destroy all your hopes. They should now have 



as much sun as possible, and when the weather is pleasant some air may be 



admitted. 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 com. 

 menced 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 while 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 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. 



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