94 
THE MANUAL OF GARDENING. 
high estimation as a florists’ flower. There are now several 
hundred named varieties. The old and common kinds are peren- 
nial, but many of the new and expensive sorts are strictly annual. 
They require great care in their cultivation, to prevent their 
degenerating or sporting their colours. Like other plants which 
shoot out runners, they very quickly deteriorate the soil in which 
they grow, and require to be frequently transplanted, not taking 
up balls of earth with the roots, but washing all the earth away, 
cleansing the roots carefully of the excrementitious slime which 
adheres to them. It likes a shaded situation ; not one, however, 
on which the sun never shines, but enjoying only the morning or 
evening rays, while it is protected from its mid-day splendour. 
It is propagated by seeds, by layers, or by dividing the roots. 
The seeds are contained in a capsule or pod, which must be 
carefully watched, or it will scatter its seed before you are 
aware. When the plant is to be propagated by seed, this must 
be sown between April and September, soon after it is ripe, in a 
rich light loamy soil, in a shaded situation, but not under trees. 
The seeds should be sown evenly, and as thinly as possible, in 
pans or boxes placed in a gentle heat till the seeds germinate. 
If heat cannot be applied, the seeds should not be sown late in the 
season, or the seedlings will not acquire size enough for trans- 
planting. They must be kept under some kind of shelter at 
night, and in frosty weather, or they will be cut off. Those 
sown in the spring will be in danger from drought unless care- 
fully watered. They must be kept free from weeds, and pre- 
served from the depredations of worms, snails, and slugs. When 
the seedlings are about an inch high they may be planted out, 
about six inches apart, in shady weather; they may afterwards 
be thinned to half these distances, which will be sufficient space 
till they show flower. By this method, new and very beautiful 
varieties are produced, when the seed has been taken from first- 
rate plants. Slipping, or dividing the roots, may be done at any 
time; and should be resorted to when the plants straggle up, or 
the colours run, or the flowers become small ; never suffering the 
plants to get more than three inches high. Take up the roots 
and divide all the slips from them which possess root fibres; 
these must be washed clean, and planted out in a shady border, 
and be abundantly watered. It is best to do this in the spring or 
summer months, to allow the slips to form strong bushy plants. 
Any that appear sickly or drooping will be assisted by having a 
hand-glass turned over them. There are some sorts, such as 
Sylvia and the Hybrids, from the Windsor park, which cannot 
easily be slipped, and are only propagated with certainty by 
layers, they being annuals, though the perennial varieties suc- 
ceed best by cuttings or slips. Layering is best performed from 
the last week in May till the middle of June; and again, and, 
