THE FLORAL IVORLD 



1 



START YOUR SEEDING OUT OF DOORS. 



I would like to say to the many 

 amateur flower growers who, like my- 

 self, have tried to start seed in the 

 house and who have only ordinary 

 windows, "don't do it." I have tried 

 so many times with such poor results 

 that now I wait until about April 15 

 and sow my seed out of doors in 

 boxes or in a small bed. I scatter 

 the seed thinly on finely pulverized 

 soil, cover very lightly, and sprinkle 

 several times a day to keep the earth 

 from getting dry. The seedlings are 

 all sturdy and ready from the very 

 first to stand the sun and wind which 

 the frailer house-grown plants must 

 be very gradually accustomed to. 



Always transplant when they have 

 four or six leaves. It is better to 

 transplant at first to a larger box and 

 again to the beds where they are to 

 grow, but they will do very well if 

 put at once in the beds. If possible, 

 shade a little during the hottest part 

 of the day at first. Water only in the 

 evening, and after watering draw a 

 little dry soil over the damp to keep 

 the sun from baking it. 



Mrs. E. C. Reynolds 



Washington, D. C. 



RAISING BULBS FROM SEED. 



As most bulb seeds ripen in May or 

 June, and grow best if planted imme- 

 diately, I take small boxes filled with 

 good garden soil and sharp sand, half 

 of each, to sow the seeds in. Set the 

 boxes in a partly shaded place, keep 

 damp but not wet. When it gets cold 

 put boxes in cellar. In January 

 bring up, water well, cover with glass 

 and put in sunny window. Keep 

 growing as long as possible. 



In August transplant into a bed of 

 rich, sandy soil. Put a frame over the 

 bed for shade and protection. Mulch 

 with a little well-rotted manure the 

 first hard freeze in December. 



Dutch bulbs, day lilies, lilies, also 

 hardy roses, can be raised in the 

 same way. 



I have had some success with cro- 

 cus, late tulips, crown imperials, 

 planted outdoors during a thaw in 

 February. An immense amount of 

 valuable seeds annually go to waste 

 that would give much pleasure if 

 planted. 



Pa. Mrs. Ida E. Cozins. 



PLUMBAGO COCCINEAISA. 



This is a very beautiful plant for 

 the winter window garden. Procure a 

 young plant in the spring and pot it 

 in good fibrous loam in a five-inch, 

 pot, with sufficient drainage material 

 to assure good drainage. Place it 

 where it will get the morning's sun,, 

 and encourage growth by judicious 

 watering and pinching in the shoots 

 to promote branching. By September 

 the plant will have obtained a sys- 

 tematic and good-sized growth. If the 

 vessel is filled with roots, give a size- 

 larger, but do not overpot it or it will- 

 not do so well. By November it will 

 commence to bloom, sending out its- 

 very pretty rose-colored flower sprays. 

 It will continue in bloom until late in. 

 spring, when it can be cut back and 

 treated like the previous spring, and 

 the following winter it will indeed 

 prove a plant of great beauty, as 

 many of the branches will have two- 

 and three sprays of bloom of different 

 lengths, which, mingling together,. 

 give the appearance of one continu- 

 ous spray, fully one-quarter of a yard! 

 long. The plant must have the condi- 

 tions just right to do well, a tempera- 

 ture from sixty-eight to seventy de- 

 grees, and either an eastern or south- 

 ern exposure, but do not over- 

 water it. 

 Pennsylvania. Mrs. S. R. Welsh. 



Be patient, and do not hurry your 

 plants too much by applying a fertil- 

 izer before it is needea. 



