A BorDER OF PINK GERANIUMS EDGED WITH SWEET ALYSSUM 
E GIVE close attention to this department, which is probably the largest in quantity and variety in this country, nearly one 
thousand species and varieties being offered. 
Our Flower seeds have a world-wide reputation, and we grow and save on our own grounds at Riverton more varieties than any 
other American Seedsman. Our constant aim is to secure the very best strains obtainable, and spare no pains or expense with this object 
in view. Our strains of Asters, Carnations, Petunia, Verbena, Zinnia, etc., are grown by the leading private gardeners and commercial 
florists, and are acknowledged to be superior in all respects. 
SUCCESS WITH FLOWER SEEDS 
We are convinced that many of the failures with flower seeds are due to lack of proper conditions, and while it would be impossible 
in the space at our disposal in this catalogue to give explicit directions for each and every variety which we offer (but which is given on 
each packet of flower seeds we sell), we feel sure that if the general directions given below-are followed success will be the rule.~ These 
directions, we may say, are written for the latitude of Philadelphia. Customers living in other sections can readily adapt them to their 
localities. 
For all flower seeds which should be started indoors, and this 
includes many of our best and brightest summer flowers, such as 
Heliotrope, Celosia, Lobelia, Salvia, Vinca, Verbenas, etc., the best 
plan is to sow in seed pans or boxes (about 2 inches deep) which 
should be filled to the depth of an inch with broken pots, coal ashes, 
or any rough material that will furnish perfect drainage. The 
upper inch should be nicely sifted soil, composed, if possible, of 
about one-third each of sand, leaf mould and light garden loam. 
Press firmly and evenly and water thoroughly the day before sow- 
ing. Sow the seeds thinly over the surface, cover about one-eighth 
of an inch and pressing firmly; cover with a pane of glass and. one 
or two thicknesses of newspaper to prevent the too rapid evapora- 
tion of the moisture and keep inatemperature between 60°and 70°. 
Water carefully as needed. The importance of uniform attention 
to this detail is one that can only be learned by experience and ob- 
servation. To omit a single watering, or too frequent, indiscrimi- 
nate watering, usually leads to failure. Remove the glass, or 
covering, as soon as the seeds have germinated, and when the seed- 
lings are large enough to handle, they should be transplanted into 
similarly prepared boxes an inch apart each way, or put into small 
pots and kept in same until time to plant out in the open ground. 
At all times they should. have an abundance of air, otherwise the 
young seedlings are liable to “‘damp off.” 
Do not be in too much of a hurry in starting Flower Seeds. 
Germination is likely to be somewhat slow and uncertain during 
January and February, and the amateur is likely to obtain much 
better results when the seeds are sown nearer their natural time to 
germinate. It has been said that most of the annual flowers, the 
“seed of which is better to be started indoors, should be sown one 
The full worth of their money to all is the broad principle in which we always deal, and we refer. to. 
month in advance of the time you expect to transplant the seed- 
lings to their flowering quarters in the garden. When sown too 
early they are likely to become, as the result of lack of space and 
air and an excess of temperature, long and lanky and woody, 
and such plants are not so desirable as short stocky well rooted 
seedlings. 
For most of the ordinary annual flowers, such as Sweet Alyssum, 
Calliopsis, Calendula, Marigold, Mignonette, Nasturtium, etc., 
the simplest method is to sow directly out of doors when danger 
of frost is past in the space where they -are intended to flower. 
The ground should be dug and raked fine on the surface, sowing 
the seeds evenly and thinly, either in lines or beds, covering not 
over four times their size, and firming the soil over them. It is 
advisable to mix the finer seeds with five to ten times its bulk of 
dry sand or wheat flour, this enables you to make a more even dis- 
tribution. Should they come up too thickly, as most of them are 
likely to do, thin out so that the plants will stand from 4 to 12 
inches apart according to the variety. This plan is also adapted to 
many varieties usually started indoors, including Asters, Verbenas, 
Celosias, Stocks, Salvia, etc., but as a rule their germination is more 
certain under glass, and as they begin to flower so much earlier 
when started indoors, the extra trouble is well repaid for by their 
increased blooming period. 
We will be pleased to send cur customers on request a leaflet 
entitled — 
Hints on the Growing of Flowers from Seed, covering the 
details of sowing both Annual and Perennial Flower Seeds. 
‘our reputation as evidence that we live up to the precept (51) 
