D. M. FERRY & CO>S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



69 



A SELECT DESCRIPTIVE LIST 



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ANY who do not meet with the success they expected in the culture of a general list of Flowers, 

 attribute the difficulty solely to the seed, overlooking the important fact that nearly the entire range of 

 Flower Seeds requires careful and particular treatment, and the further fact that the treatment and con- 

 ditions which with one variety will produce the most satisfactory results, may utterly blight another. 

 To ensure success, the conditions and requirements of the several species as to soil, moisture, heat, light, etc., 

 should be studied and then observed in culture. We feel sure that the pleasure resulting from a large and varied 

 collection of Flowers will amply compensate for the time and care given to the subject. 



Selection of Varieties. — Success in flower culture depends quite largely upon a judicious selection 

 of varieties. Every sort we offer is, under certain conditions, attractive and desirable, but some of them, while 

 exceedingly beautiful under favorable circumstances, will be most unsatisfactory and little better than weeds under 

 others; we therefore urge our friends to study carefully the following pages before ordering, that they may select 

 the sorts best suited to their wants. 



The Soil. — Another great object to be considered is the soil in which flower seeds are to be sown. The soil 

 best adapted to flowering plants generally, is a light, friable loam, containing a sufficient amount of sand to render 

 it porous. A great many varieties will live in almost any kind of soil, except it be extremely dry, calcareous, or of 

 a stiff, heavy character; still, to give them a fair chance for development, some little pains should be taken in adding 

 to the soil, as much as possible, what may be wanting in it. Most flowers are better if produced on plants of most 

 vigorous growth, so the greater portion of the garden should be prepared by deep digging, thorough pulverization, 

 and liberal enriching with large quantities of well rotted manure. On the other hand, some sorts do best on very" 

 poor soil, so a portion of the garden should be left without enriching at all. As the process of germination is shorter 

 or longer in the different kinds of seeds, the patience of the cultivator is often sorely tried with seeds of a slowly 

 germinating character; the patience of a devoted florist, however, is never exhausted in these manipulations, and 

 the certainty of his final success repays him fully for the trouble. 



Duration and Hardiness. — For the purpose of giving general cultural directions, flowering plants 

 may be divided into several classes based upon their duration and hardiness; but it is evident that such a division 

 could only be correct for a certain latitude and for certain conditions, and while the classification we have followed 

 applies generally to the Central and Northern States, yet some which are classed as half-hardy may be tender in 

 the North or in unfavorable exposures, and quite hardy in the South or in exceptionally favorable situations. 



Hardy Annuals include those plants which complete their growth the first season and then die, and 

 being native of the same latitude, or if native of a warmer climate, develop so rapidly that if the seed is sown in the 

 open ground the plants will come to perfect maturity before they are liable to be killed by frost. 



Culture. — Carefully study the descriptions and cultural directions of the variety, and select suitable soil, and 

 note the distance apart the plants need to be for perfect development. Then make the ground very mellow, free 

 from lumps, and smooth, and provide a board about one-half inch thick, and two or three feet long, and about three 

 inches wide. Press the edge of this board into the soil so as to make a groove as deep as the seed is to be planted, 

 remembering that more seeds of this class are lost through too deep planting than from any other cause, and that 

 generally seeds should not be covered to a depth greater than two or three times their diameter. Scatter the seed 

 along the groove, allowing from four or five of the larger to fifteen or twenty of the smaller seeds to the space each 

 plant is to occupy. Cover by pinching the earth together over the seed, turn the board flatwise and press the soil 

 down firtnly and evenly. Mark each end of the row with a small stick, and repeat at a suitable distance. By this 

 method the seed is covered to a uniform depth, and the young plants being in rows are more easily seen and less 

 liable to be pulled up as weeds, while a little care in thinning will prevent any appearance of stiffness. 



Half-Hardy Annuals include such annual plants as, from being natives of warmer climates or of 

 slow development, need to be forwarded in the spring by means of artificial heat, either in greenhouses, hot-beds, 

 or the dwelling house, in order to come to perfection. 



