D. M. FERRY & GO'S 



BEIEF HINTS ON SOWING AND CULTIVATING 



ANNUAL, BIENNIAL AND PERENNIAL 



i-HE general inile for mowing flower seeds, as well as any other seeds, 

 ^'^r is to sow them at the proper depth ; and the depth at which they are 

 sown, should in every instance be governed by the size of the seed itself. 

 As the sprouts of small seeds are naturally small, if sown as deep as large seeds, 

 they will be either unusually long in starting, or more likely perish in the ground 

 after sprouting, from want of sufficient strength in the young sprouts to force a 

 passage through the soil. V^ery small seeds, such as Portulaca, Campanula, 

 Digitalis, &c., should be merely sprinkled on the surface of the ground, after mak- 

 ing quite smooth with the back of a spade, and barely covered with finely sifted. 

 light, mellow soil, and afterward protected from the scorching sun and heavy 

 rains, by a cloth, mat, or some green branches stuck around it. 



Another great object to be considered, is the soil into which flower seeds 

 are to be sown. The soil best adapted for 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, sandy or 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. Deep digging, and enriching 

 with thoroughly decayed manure, is the least that should be done. If the 

 weather, after sowing, should be dry, it will be necessary to water the places 

 where the seeds are sown, with a fine rose watering pot, regularly, but slightly, 

 ever)'- evening, as it is essential that the seeds, during their process of geiTnina- 

 tion, should be kept constantly moist. From a neglect or oversight of this, 

 arise most of the failures. 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 flor- 

 ist, however, never exhausts in these manipulations, and the certainty of l)is 

 final success, repays him fully for the little trouble. 



All flowers raised from seed, are usually known as Annuals, Biennials, or 

 Perennials. 



Annuals are those plants which flower and ripen their seeds or fruit the 

 season they are sown, and then perish. This class of plants is again divided 

 by the cultivator into two classes — the hardy and half-hardy, or tender kinds. 



