THE FLOWER GARDEN 



165 



dry, frost-proof place until the following spring. 

 The little new bulbs or "pips" which grow on the 

 older bulbs should be detached and planted sepa- 

 rately; they will bloom the second year. 



Verbena : For best results, sow seed in window 

 boxes or hotbeds in early spring and transplant to 

 the open ground in May. 



Zinnia : Grown in the same manner as petunias. 



Then there are a host of other annuals — candy- 

 tuft, cosmos, gillyflower or stock, lady-slipper, mig- 

 nonette, portulaca, Shirley and California poppies, 

 sweet alyssum, etc., etc., — which I have not room to 

 touch upon here. But they are nearly all of easy 

 culture and the grower needs no special knowledge. 



As for the many kinds of so-called "house 

 plants" that are often moved in pots to the garden 

 in summer time, I can only say : Beware of setting 

 them out too early ; toughen them first by letting 

 them stand on a sheltered porch for a few days, 

 protecting them with newspapers or cloths during 

 cold nights. Boston ferns and other house ferns 

 are improved by sinking the pots to the brim in the 

 ground in a place outdoors sheltered from hard 

 winds and partially or wholly shaded ; thus treated 

 (and occasionally sprinkled with water) they will 

 "renew their beauty" for another winter. 



Insect and Fungous Enemies. — Only a few 

 general remarks are possible here. A careful study 

 of Chapter V should help the flower grower to decide 

 upon a remedy for almost any trouble. Does the 

 insect eat? Then arsenate of lead, hellebore, etc., 

 will kill it. Or, if it does not eat foliage or flowers, 

 mustn't it suck the juices from leaf or branch by 

 inserting its beak inside where stomach poisons can 

 not go? Then one of the contact poisons or lice 



