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need nothing more than a thin sprinkling of earth just to fairly cover the seeds; and each 

 pot should have the surface again gently pressed down; a slignt watering with a very fine 

 rose will complete the operation of sowing. 



When all the pots are filled and planted, and marked, as they should be, with the name of 

 each, and date of sowing, upon a neat label, remove them at once to the hotbed or frame, 

 and place them perfectly level, so that each pot may receive its proper proportion of Water 

 evenly over the surface. If there are but a few pots, and a greenhouse is at hand, 

 they may have a place on a sunny shelf, near the glass, shading them during the middle of 

 the* day. Shading will also be necessary in the hotbed. The temperature should not 

 exceed 75° or 80°, or the seeds will germinate too quick, and be drawn up weakly. As 

 the seedlings appear above ground, give air by tilting the sashes at the buck. Give 

 water as the pots require it (which is usually once a day), and always of the same 

 temperature of the bed, and be careful in the operation not to wash away or destroy the 

 young and slender seedlings. Daring cold nights, a mat may be thrown over the frame 

 which will prevent the loss of heat, and maintain a more even temperature. As some of 

 the seeds will make their appearance before others, those that appear above ground 

 should be placed together towards the back of the frame, where they can have a gneater 

 abundance of air, and be more freely watered, than the others. As' the plants acquire a 

 proper size, they should be thinned out, so as not to injure those that remain ; and then, 

 when further advanced, should bo transplanted into four-inch pots. — one, three, or five 

 plants in each, according to the variety, — using a compost similar to that in which they 

 were sown, replacing the pots in the bed, and shading slightly till they are well established, 

 and able to bear the full sun. Those that are later in vegetating should be treated in the 

 same manner, until all are transplanted, unless it is such kinds as will not bear removal 

 safely; and must be allowed to remain in the pot in which they were sown, thinning them 

 out, so that not more than three or five plants are left. The Cypress-vine, Thunbergia, &c, 

 are of this character. 



By the middle of May, the seedlings will be ready for transferring to the beds or borders 

 where they are to bloom; but, before this is done, the plants should be "hardened off," as it 

 is termed, in order to prepare them for the change. This is effected by gradually giving 

 the plants more air. and, when the weather is favorable, both day and night, removing the 

 sashes wholly during the day; or, if more convenient, removing them to a cold frame, where 

 they can be fully exposed in the daytime, and protected at night, if cold, with a covering 

 of mats. Much must be left to the judgment of the cultivator and the amount of available 

 space, the object being to prevent the plants from being injured by a too sudden exposure 

 to the open air. Proceed, in transplanting, as we have already recommended under that 

 head for hardy annuals. 



TENDER ANNUALS. 



We have stated that the classification of hardy, half-hardy, and tender annuals was a 

 convenient one; but, really, there is scarcely an annual but will grmv freely in our climate 

 in the open ground in summer. The term lender has been applied by English gardeners 

 because the plants do not attain full perfection unless grown in pots in the greenhouse. 

 Such are the Globe Amaranth, Balsam, Egg-plant, &c. All the tender annuals, therefore, 

 may be treated in the same manner as the half-hardy, and with equal success. 



BIENNIALS AND PERENNIALS. 



Biennial and perennial plants are almost indispensable ndditions to the flower-garden, 

 displaying their blossoms both early and late, succeeding and even flowering with the 

 spring bulbs, and continuing long after the frost has destroyed the hardiest annuals. They 

 are also so easily cultivated, and require so littlocare for their great amount of beauty, that 

 they must be ranked as the most permanent and showy objects of the flower-border. We 

 only need name the Larkspur, Phlox, Lychnis, Coreopsis, Saxifrage, &c, as a few among 

 the many imposing and elegant groups. 



Biennials are those plants that generally do not flower until the second year, and, after 

 blooming, die. These include, however," manv splendid species, such as' the Foxglove, 

 Canterbury Bells, Sweet Williams, Hollyhocks, &c. Perennials are plants which generally 

 do not bloom until the second year, but continue to bloom for years in succession, and may 

 be propagated, after once obtained, by division of the roots, growing more vigorously and 

 flowering better if divided and replanted every three or four vears. 



The proper time for sowing the seeds of hardy kinds is in April or May, at the period of 

 sowing the hardy annuals, in order to obtain a good strong growth the first year, and a 

 greater abundance of flowers the second; but the sowings may be continued with success 

 as late as August, after which the plants will not become strong enough to flower the 

 following year. Whether the seeds are sown in beds or in the border, the young 



E hints should bo thinned out, and afterwards transplanted, just as we have directed for / 

 ardy annuals, only giving them more room, and encouraging a vigorous growth by hoeing, *■ 

 wutering, &c. On the approach of severe frosty weather, protoct the plants with a light 



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