214 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



April, May, and even June, if a late autumn show is needed; the 

 seed ought to be sown thinly in patches or broad masses, if effective 

 displays are aimed at, taking care that this is not done in wet 

 weather, when the soil is in a pasty condition. The ground should 

 be deeply dug and enriched with old hotbed manure, leaf-mould, 

 &c., the surface being made fine by raking. It is a mistake to 

 apply too much manure, especially cow- or horse-manure, as over- 

 abundant nutriment tends to promote vegetative growth rather 

 than the production of flowers. At the same time a sowing may 

 be made in pans in a cool house, and the seedlings pricked 

 off singly into small pots ; these come in very useful for trans- 

 ferring to the open border, taking the place of those which 

 have flowered earlier and have been removed. 



General Treatment of Hardy and Half-hardy Annuals 

 Grown in the Open Border. ^ — -When annuals are sown in the 

 positions in which they are intended to flov/er, one of the most 

 important items to be observed in their cultivation is that of 

 thinning, and it is one that well repays for the time occupied in 

 its execution. Very often annuals are sown thickly in patches 

 in the borders, and allowed to run into flower without any 

 attention being paid to this important item, and the result is 

 that they neither blossom so freely nor are the flowers so fine 

 as when properly thinned. As soon as the seedhngs are large 

 enough to be easily handled, thinning must commence, pulling 

 out all the weakly seedlings, and leaving only those that 

 promise to make sturdy, healthy specimens. Finally, they 

 should be thinned so as to leave from three to a dozen to the 

 square foot, the quantity depending upon the size of the mature 

 plant : each one must have sufficient room to develop properly. 

 Slugs very often prove a nuisance in the garden, and they 

 appear to be particularly fond of annuals when in the young 

 state, so that the gardener will act wisely if he is on the alert 

 to prevent their ravages. They seem to have a decided objec- 

 tion to soot, and it is, therefore, a good plan to sprinkle a little 

 over the soil previous to sowing and working it in, afterwards 

 scattering a little over the surface. A ring of dry sharp sand is 

 sometimes placed around the patch of seedlings for the same 

 purpose ; but bran laid in patches, or brewers' grains similarly 

 disposed, will be found very attractive. 



Staking is another point which must be attended to, if the 

 plants are to be shown off to the best advantage ; and it is 

 unfortunately a point which is very often done badly. There 



