April 14, 1881.] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
293 
make an effort to raise seed from selected plants, and so establish 
equal or superior strains to those of the foreign growers, and keep 
more of English money in this country. British florists have sur¬ 
passed the continental growers in raising superior strains of such 
plants as Primulas, Cyclamens, Calceolarias, and Cinerarias, and 
why cannot they do the same with Stocks, Asters, Zinnias, &c., 
that are indispensable for gardens in summer ? There appears to 
be a wide field for trade enterprise and cultural skill open in this 
direction in England. In a small way seeds of such plants as 
those referred to have been raised “ at home,” and the results 
have been so good as to encourage the practice on a larger scale. 
But to return, to the Zinnias. Flowers equal to those referred to 
Fig. 69 .—Double 
zinnias. 
have been raised from English-grown seed, the plants having 
been grown in pots and the seed ripened under glass. 
Only gentle heat is requisite for raising Zinnias from seed, and 
a cold frame for growing the plants. The present is the time for 
sowing, and it is of the greatest importance that the plants are 
not drawn and “coddled” in their early stages. Neither must 
the roots be much injured during transplanting and potting. To 
produce vigorous plants and fine blooms the soil must be rich ; 
that in the lower half of the pots in which the plants are intended 
to flower should be mixed with fully half its bulk of rich manure, 
the top portion being lighter, or the young plants may “go off.” 
Zinnias make splendid beds in the flower garden, and for this 
purpose the singles are, perhaps, as effective as the doubles; but 
for growing in pots for the conservatory the double are far 
