142 
THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 
enemies of plants — to be removed to tbeir destinations without the 
process of potting. The soil for flowers should not be made rich 
with exciting manures, which have the effect of producing a luxuriant 
foliage at the expense of the bloom. Rotten leaves do better than 
anything else to mix with the soil, which need not be very deep. 
Having some very large scarlet pelargoniums, I intend this season 
to bury the pots in the beds, instead of turning the plants out, 
expecting in this way to secure more flowers. Good drainage is 
necessary, and a few crocks may be advantageously put into each 
bole under the plants. Calculate well your distances, for nothing is 
more common than to injure future effect by planting too close. If 
the object is to cover a bed with one kind of flower, the distance is 
no object ; but for single plants allowance should be made, so that, 
when full grown, a little space may exist between each. Training 
should begin at once, by pegging down the trailers, and putting 
neat sticks to those requiring support. Remember that it is not 
always good policy to allow a plant to bloom when and where it 
pleases. A strong shoot showing bloom may often be removed with 
advantage ; other shoots will thus be encouraged. Occasional 
stopping, by pinching off the ends of the shoots, will induce a more 
compact growth and regular bloom. 
The time for placing the plants in the open air should be care- 
fully studied. It is dangerous in our climate to presume that frosts 
are over till the middle of May ; and even then the nights should 
be watched, as a destructive rime has often appeared at the close of 
that month. If your garden is small, and you do not mind trouble, 
you may fill your beds now, provided you give protection at night 
by covering with flower-pots or otherwise. You will in this way 
get your beds in summer order earlier ; but if you cannot do this, 
be patient. Take the advice of a sufferer, and stop till the last 
week of May. It is most provoking to find, some clear, sunny 
morning, your tender pets blackened, and even the more hardy ones 
turned to a dingy brown by a frost. With a little management, you 
can carry on the growth of your stock in pots, so that you will not, 
after all, be a loser by waiting. In this case, you must retard some 
and forward others. See that none get pot-bound, and that flagging 
is prevented by a proper supply of water. 
A frame full of plants demands much watching in this respect, 
or some bright, warm day will deprive small pots of their moisture, 
and injure them very much. Where your beds are now occupied by 
tulips and other bulbs, your plan of operations must vary according 
to the treatment you propose to give the bulbs. If you intend to 
allow them to remain in the ground, you can insert your summer 
plants among the foliage, removing the latter as it decays. But if 
you wish to remove the bulbs, it will not do to hurry them, for on 
ithe duration of their leaves their health and strength depend. By 
taking them up with the soil adhering to them, and putting them 
into the ground again in some other spot, the leaves will still do 
their duty, and the beds they occupied may receive their summer 
ornaments. 
