CULTURE OF STOCKS (MATHIOLA), 
31 
Management of February Sowing. — Sow the seeds in pots or pans, at the 
same time and in the same manner as the first crop of tender annuals ; place the 
pots in the hotbed and the young plants will soon appear, then gradually inure 
them to a cooler place, and supply them with air as the weather permits, or they 
will soon damp off. Care must also be taken not to overwater, or the same results 
will follow. 
As soon as they are large enough to transplant, take them carefully up with as 
much soil about their roots as can be got, and plant about six in each 48-sized pot, 
filled with the aforementioned compost. Place them under a hand-glass, or in a 
frame close shut down, for a few days until they have begun to grow. Afterwards 
harden them by degrees, and when they begin to show flower, pull up the single 
ones, and turn the others out of the pots into the open borders. 
March Sowing. — The young plants raised at this time are not so liable to 
damp off as those sown in February. These are usually sown in drills on a slight 
hot-bed, at the same time and manner as half-hardy annuals ; when they are up, 
and the weather is fine, give plenty of air and finally take off the lights altogether. 
When they are little more than an inch high, transplant them with as good balls 
as they can be got up with. This may either be done in pots, as the last, in the 
open borders, where they are intended to flower, or on a warm south border of pre- 
pared soil ; if the nights are cold, it would be well to shelter them with a mat, 
frame, or anything else convenient, till they have become established. Afterwards 
pull up the single ones, and remove the others to their appropriate stations with a 
garden trowel. 
April Sowing.— These require less care than the last. A south border of 
light soil is the most proper situation to sow at this season. Sow in shallow drills, 
in preference to broadcast. These drills should be about six inches apart, and the 
seeds should be scattered thinly. When they are an inch and a half high, remove 
them to their appropriate places in the flower borders, or transplant them on a bed 
until they show flower ; then select the double ones and throw the rest away, except 
such as are wanted for seed. 
May Sowing. — The plants raised at this sowing will continue to flower down 
to Christmas, and indeed will flower again the following spring. The best situation 
for this season is a border on an east or south-east aspect. A south border would be 
too hot ; also they are more liable to be infested with a small insect which eats holes 
in the leaves. When they are large enough, plant them in the places appointed for 
them to flower ; after planting shade them from the sun until they begin to grow, 
and water as often as they require it. 
August Sowing. — The plants raised at this time are intended to stand the 
winter in frames, and flower very early in the spring. These are usually sown in 
pots, from the facility afforded in removing them from one situation to another. 
The pots selected for this purpose are forty-eights. Place a good drainage of 
broken potsherds at the bottom ; afterwards fill the pots three parts full of the 
before-mentioned compost, level it, and scatter a few seeds thinly over the soil, and 
