ANNUALS AND BULBS 
127 
Pompon dahlias must not be omitted, and 
should be feet and 3 feet high and a mass 
of colour all the autumn. Nerissa, a pale 
pink, is very pretty, and they can be had in 
yellow, red, crimson, and white. 
Single dahlias also are very useful, and can 
be grown easily from seed, but they are not so 
much used as formerly ; twenty years ago they 
were in every garden, and were capital for 
cutting, and very showy. 
February and March are busy months, 
when annuals are needed for the borders. In 
February snapdragons and pentstemons are 
sown in boxes of finely sifted soil, and not 
too deeply covered. After gently watering 
with a fine rose, the boxes are put into a frame 
and covered with brown paper (which is taken 
off in a few days) and put into the greenhouse. 
When large enough to handle, the seedlings are 
pricked off into other boxes and gradually 
hardened off, before being planted out in April. 
Where no greenhouse is available (the kitchen- 
window has been known to take its place), 
seed should be sown outside in March, April, 
or May. 
There are certain ways of sowing seed that 
are found successful when drought is to be 
feared, and one is this. After raking your seed- 
