The Cultivation of Flowers 
177 
early and neatly as possible, so that there is no chance of 
the plants getting doubled over. This spoils the appear- 
ance of the plants for the whole season. 
The heights of plants should be ascertained, and the 
stakes cut so that the top will be just below the flower 
stalk. The plants will then be supported without the 
stake being conspicuous. Stakes should also be put 
widely round the plants, so that the latter will not have 
a bunched-up appearance when tied. 
Another thing which should never be lost sight of in 
regard to the herbaceous border is tidiness. Owing to 
the fact that early and late plants are mixed, there are 
always some which are ripening and dying down, while 
others are at the height of their growth. It will be found 
difficult to keep the borders always tidy, as the plants must 
not be cut down as soon as they have done flowering, for 
the ripening process is necessary to mature the root of the 
plant for the following season. The only thing, therefore, 
to be done, is to keep the ripening plants tied up, taking 
out occasionally any stems which are quite dead, and pick- 
ing off any unsightly leaves, until the whole plant can be 
cut down. 
The plants very soon spread and become too large for 
the borders. Every spring, therefore, when the borders 
are being manured and dug — which process should not 
be done until the plants have all appeared above the soil 
— the plants should be divided by cutting the root clump 
either into halves or quarters, leaving one young piece, 
which will be as vigorous as the plant was the year before. 
In time it will be found necessary to renew the border 
altogether, as, when it becomes filled with plants of a fair 
’ C 526 ) 13 
