VII. Do I know the special requirements of each kind of plant I have 
selected ? — Continued. 
3. What kind of seed is produced? 
4. What are the best methods of propagation? 
5. What are its requirements with regard to soil and water? 
6. What are its requirements with regard to temperature and sunlight? 
7. When is the best time for initial seeding? For transplanting to the 
open garden? 
8. At what time and for how long should the plants bloom? 
9. What methods might be used to retard or hasten blooming? To 
prolong the period of blooming? 
10. What special methods of pruning or culture are used to secure fine 
single specimens of bloom? A profusion of bloom? 
11. For what purposes are these flowers best suited? 
12. Is there a market for them? 
13. What varieties are most popular? 
14. What fungous pests are apt to prove injurious to the plant? 
15. What insect enemies and other annual pests may prove harmful? 
16. What treatment is necessary for these diseases and pests? 
VIII. Can I sell and market my flowers to advantage? 
1. Shall I sell my flowers to a dealer or build up a private trade? 
2. Have I investigated the needs and requirements of both kinds of 
markets? 
3. At what time of day should most flowers be picked? 
4. What precautions must be used in picking? 
5. What care must be given to keep them in good condition until they 
reach the market? 
6. Can I pack flowers so they may reach a distant market in good 
condition? 
7. What records and accounts must I keep to be able to ascertain how 
much my flowers cost? 
8. What prices must I obtain to make a profit? 
9. How can I use my surplus flowers to make some one happy? 
IMPROVING THE HOME GROUNDS. 
Any extensive study of landscape gardening, involving as it does a knowledge 
of aesthetic art, practical horticulture, and surveying, is beyond the scope of 
the secondary school. An appreciation of landscape art may be developed, 
however, and a good start made toward practical attainment in connection 
with elementary floriculture. Most rural communities need such a stimulus 
to civic improvement as may be given by an enthusiastic teacher with a class 
of interested students. If a way is opened for the students to gain practice 
on the home grounds, it will not only be a means of applying what they may 
learn of the subject at school, but will also be a good means of stimulating 
community interest in making the home grounds more beautiful. 
RELATION OF SUBJECT TO COURSE OF STUDY. 
A phase of horticulture. — This subject should form a part of a general course 
in horticulture. It should be preceded by lessons in plant propagation, in 
which special attention is given the development of plants in the seed bed 
and hotbed and such forms of asexual propagation as slips and cuttings. The 
subject also should follow a number of lessons in home floriculture, in which 
the study of the potting of plants and their general culture is followed by a 
