THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
229 
decorations, in which department he treats of 
arbours and summer-houses, shady seats, 
fountains, vases, baskets, and sun-dials. Thus, 
before he says much about plants and flowers, 
he provides a proper place for their reception. 
We must not, however, forget that, while upon 
the subject of arbours, he mentions many in- 
teresting climbers, and points out their uses. 
We now come to the flowers and plants 
themselves: he commences with annuals, 
which he divides, according to the common 
sense view of the subject, into Lardy annuals, 
which can stand all weathers ; half-hardy 
annuals, which can bear no frost; and tender 
annuals, which will not thrive in the open 
air. This is what we call a right view of the 
question, though experience tells us, that the 
seedsman makes a very different kind of 
division. The author gives lists of many 
annuals, dividing them into classes for height 
and colour; such as white, two to four inches 
high, the same, six to nine inches high, and so 
on ; from those he goes in the same way to 
yellow, orange, brown, carnation red, pink, 
red, rose red, violet, purple, blue, variegated, 
&c. All of which is exceedingly useful to 
young, and indeed, to some experienced gar- 
deners and amateurs. In describing how these 
should be sown, he mentions several seasons, 
but he recommends pots to be placed over the 
patches where they are sown early in March, 
as the best means of protecting them from 
frosts and very heavy rains ; these can be 
taken off in mild weather ; when they are 
large enough, they can be thinned, by care- 
fully removing the superfluous ones to trans- 
plant elsewhere. The growth and flowering 
even of these hardy annuals can be accele- 
rated by sowing in heat, and growing them 
under protection, until the period of planting 
out, when they will be greatly hastened. 
Peas, Lupins, and many other subjects, as 
hardy as may be, can be sown in pots, and be 
got almost into flower by the time they would 
be up under ordinary circumstances of sowing 
out of doors. This is in reference to the hardy 
annuals. These he recommends at once to be 
sown in a hot-bed. Those which will bear 
planting out, may be sown in pans or drills ; 
but very small seeds, that will hardly bear it, 
should be sown in pots, to be turned out with 
the ball whole, or to be plunged in their pots. 
The author here gives lists of half-hardy 
annuals, in the same way as the hardy as to 
height and colour. He recommends the pricking 
out of half-hardy seedlings in a hot-bed, the 
same as they are raised in, if they have room. 
We should prefer a slight hot-bed made on 
purpose, with four inches thick of good loam 
and peat on it. Here, according to the nature 
of the plant, they may be placed at distances 
of two to three inches, and when removed 
to the borders, or into pots, they will come up 
with fine balls of peat and loam hanging to 
their roots, of which not a fibre need be 
destroyed. However, Mr. MTntosh arrives 
at the same end, if in another way. Those 
who cannot use hot-beds may sow their half- 
hardy annuals at the end of April, and many 
will bloom in fine seasons, though of course 
later. Balsams are recommended to be sown 
in January, and again in April, for two seasons; 
to be planted in sixty sized pots of half loam, 
a quarter peat, and a quarter rotten dung. As 
soon as they are large enough, to be shifted 
from one sized pot to another as they advance, 
each time lessening the quantity of peat, and 
adding rich loam, so that at their last shift 
the stuff shall be three-quarters loam and one- 
quarter dung. As they advance, and the 
season advances with them, they are to have 
more air and sun. Balsams, he says, may 
also be sown in the border in May. Tender 
annuals are discussed under the heads of stove, 
green-house, &c, which departments they be- 
long to. Biennials are treated in the same 
way with regard to classification : — hardy and 
half-hardy, colours and height. We come 
now to a most extensive family of plants, 
which deservedly occupy a large portion of the 
work — Perennials, and here we shall make 
it speak for itself, by selecting the passage 
on hardy bulbs : — 
" Hardy Bulbs. — Bulbs denominated hardy 
will endure all weathers without any artificial 
heat or protection, though some of this class 
may be made to blossom much finer by occa- 
sional shelter from cold, and more particu- 
larly from wet. 
" Soil and Seed Sowing. — The soil most 
adapted to the growth of bulbous roots in 
general, is that of a sandy loam, where there 
is no stagnation of moisture below. Many 
sorts of these roots are not, however, very 
difficult in this respect, provided there be not 
an over-proportion of moisture. The ground 
for them should be prepared by digging it to 
the depth of from six to eight or ten inches, 
or more, reducing it well in the operation. 
After this has been done, it should remain a 
week or ten days before the bulbs are put in, 
to become perfectly settled, 
" From the shrewd and original observa- 
tions of a very superior writer, the Hon. and 
Rev. W. Herbert, it appears that there is, with 
respect to some sorts of bulbs, a peculiarity of 
soil congenial to them very difficult to analyse. 
' When I lived,' he says, ' at Mitcham, in 
Surrey, Cyrtanthus angustifolius was a weed 
with me, ripening seed freely, and the seed- 
lings quickly came to a flowering age, and 
were vigorous, being potted in the soil of 
Mitcham Common, which is a light brown 
earth, with a little admixture of the dead furze 
