140 FLOWERS AND THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



necessity to avoid the alternative of being very late with 

 flowers for the beds and borders, or buying largely, 

 which, of course, comes expensive ; but very humble 

 appliances in the way of hot-beds may be made to go a 

 long way. I have even known a hot-bed, made in a box 

 or large pot, do a great deal in raising seedlings and 

 striking cuttings. 



A warm south border of rich light earth, to be used as 

 a nursery, will be found a most useful accessory to the 

 flower garden. This may be used for raising seedlings, 

 for pricking out young plants until they are large enough 

 to take their place in the beds or borders, and for 

 undeveloped flowers to have a place wherein to remain 

 until they show the worth or worthlessness of their bloom. 

 A border in this nursery with cooler aspect will also be 

 found valuable, in which to strike cuttings in the shade. 

 A little reserve ground of this kind is often useful to 

 resort to for the supply of plants for the flower garden, 

 to take the place of any to which accidents may happen, 

 and to All up vacancies. 



Another little reserve ground for collecting, mixing, 

 and keeping composts, in any out of the way dry corner 

 will amply repay the cultivator. Of course it must be 

 screened from view, which may easily be managed by a 

 hedge of some quick growing plant : it should not be 

 too much shaded from sun, and if there can be a tank 

 for receiving the draining, that will hold a valuable 

 supply of liquid manure. A little bit of ground around 

 or by the side of the tool-house will do best, as it will 

 keep all the garden appliances handy and together, 

 particularly as guano and other fertilizers that wet would 

 injure, must be kept under shelter. It will be very 

 useful to have reserve stores of composts and manures 

 of different strengths and kinds, for valuable plants are 

 often sacrificed for want of the proper earth at hand at 

 the time of potting or planting. Where the arrange- 

 ments are on an extensive scale it has been recom- 

 mended to keep all the earths and manures under sheds, 

 and dung in watertight tanks, for the purpose of pre- 

 serving the liquid portion with it. Where luxuriant 



