FLORISTS' FLOWERS. 



241 



germinate when sown out of doors in light warm 

 soils late in April or early in May, but it is necessary 

 to cover the seeds with inverted tlower-pots, or some 

 such contrivance, in order to secure a successful 

 germination. The best time to sow is at the end 

 of March or the beginning of April, in pots filled 

 with a good light compost, made up of leaf-mould, 

 loam, and sand, and taking care the pots are w^ell 

 drained, also plunging them in a bottom-heat of 

 some sLxty degrees, FaiHng bottom-heat, the pots 

 can be placed in a frame, or on a shelf in a green- 

 house, covered with panes of glass, and kept shaded 

 from the sun. The seeds germinate in a compara- 

 tively quick period, and when the seedlings are about 

 an inch high they should be placed singly in small 

 pots, using the light compost previously recom- 

 mended, and kept in a close shaded frame until they 

 are established. Then a little air should be given, 

 increasing the supply as the weather is fine, so as to 

 harden off the plants preparatory to being planted 

 out. This should be done about the first week in 

 June. Xow Zinnias, as a rule, do not transplant 

 well; therefore there is a great advantage in growing 

 them singly in pots, as a preparatory measure ; and 

 when transplanted, advantage should be taken of 

 showery weather to do this. If it is done dui-ing a 

 period of dry weather, the plants should be liberally 

 w^atered until they become well established in the 

 soil. The young plants are somewhat brittle, and at 

 all stages of growth they are liable to injury from 

 the wind ; therefore, the position in which they are 

 to flower should be as far as possible sheltered from 

 its full force. Still, the position must be an open 

 one. The Zinnia, when once established in the soil, 

 is an excellent hot -weather plant — the more sunny 

 the weather, the better and more numerously does it 

 flower. They are plants that flourish rmder roasting 

 influences. 



The soil forming the bed must be deeply stirred 

 and rich. It is obvious that a strong-growing p)lant 

 like the Zinnia needs a deep soil in which to root, 

 and plenty of nutriment for the roots to feed upon. 

 If the weather should prove hot and dry for a long 

 time, the plants Avill derive great assistance from a 

 little mulching being placed about the roots. The 

 Zinnia is a valuable plant for cutting from, and the 

 act of taking the flowers prevents the decaying 

 blossoms from becoming unsightly. Under any 

 circumstances, these should be removed. 



In order to have fine flowers for exhibition, it is 

 necessary to remove some of the buds, so that the 

 strength of the plants may go to form a few instead 

 of many flowers. The plants need also to be well 

 looked after in the matter of watering, and some 

 liquid manm-e should be given twice a week, taking 

 care to well mulch the roots with short dung. 

 64 



But lest any of our readers might be discouraged 

 in attempting to raise Zinnias from seeds in the open 

 ground, we need to add to what we have already 

 written by stating that the seeds should be sown on 

 a sunny border sloping to the south, at the end of 

 May, in a rich, fine, and fairly firm soil. Little 

 groups of three or four seeds may be sown at 

 distances of about two feet apart, or a little less, 

 co-\-ering the seed lightly, and leaving the rest to 

 nature. All the plants in the gi^oups should be 

 pulled out with the exception of one, w^hich is left to 

 grow" into size. 



Under the name of Zinnia Saagcana^ or iiiexicana, 

 there was introduced a few years ago a large single 

 yellow form of dwarfer and more prostrate growth 

 than the varieties of Z. elegans, and certainly not 

 nearly so valuable or useful. From this came a 

 double yellow-flowered form, also a useful garden 

 plant, and similarly treated. But these have made 

 but little headway in the public estimation. A little 

 later there was introduced from the Continent 

 Z. Larwiini, a hybrid obtained by a German firm, 

 and said to have originated from a cross between 

 the double Zinnia elegans and the double form of 

 Z. Haageana. There were several varieties of this, 

 but, though small -flowered and neat, they will never 

 take the place of, or rival, the elegans section in our 

 gardens. 



The Anemone {Wind Floiver).-—T'hi5 was for 

 many years a favourite flower M-ith the florists, and 

 time was when large collections of named varieties 

 were cultivated by them, and stands of the flower 

 were found on the exhibition table. Unhappily, 

 beautiful as is the Anemone, and in many extremely 

 handsome and varied forms, it has almost ceased to 

 be gTOwn, and many fine named varieties have be- 

 come lost to cultivation. But there are indications 

 that it is again rising in the popular estimation, and 

 it is nov/ to be found in many more gardens than it 

 was ten years ago. 



The Anemone, according to Linnteus, is a native 

 of the south-east of Europe. We are also informed 

 that Bachelier, a French gentleman, brought it 

 from America to France in the seventeenth century, 

 where he cultivated and very much improved the 

 species, since which time it has attained its pre- 

 sent degree of perfection. An interesting story is 

 told respecting M. Bachelier' s Anemones. He had 

 secured a collection of great beauty, and would not 

 part with a root for love or money. For ten years he 

 contrived to keep the treasures to himself, until a 

 wily senator paid him a visit, and, walking around 

 the gardens, observed that the cherished Anemones 

 were in seed. Letting his robe fall upon the plants 

 as if by accident, he so swept oif a nmnber of the little 



