II. G. Hastings & Co., Seedsmen and Florists, Interlaclien, Florida. 
29 
FLOWER SEEDS. 
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FWHE following list contains all flower seeds that are desirable and do 
• I * well in the Southern States. There are few or no dower seeds raised in 
JR this country, all are imported from Prussia or Germany and northern 
houses representing themselves as growers, publishing long lists of 
varieties, willfully misrepresent facts. Our sources of supply are identical 
with theirs. Our stocks are chosen from the finest grades and will always 
be found as represented true to name and description. All varieties are 
sold at prices as marked, and many sorts usually sold at 25 to 50 cents per 
packet by other seedsman will be found listed here at lower pnces. 
For $1.00 you may order seeds to the amount of $1.25. 
For $2.00 you may order seeds to the amount of $2.50. 
All orders over 50 cents sent free by mail, for smaller orders add 5 cents 
for postage. • 
SOWING- FLOWER SEEDS. 
The sowing of Flower Seeds in the hands of the inexperinced in many 
cases results in complete failure, the complaint being made that the seeds 
were not good The same seeds having been tested by the seedsman be¬ 
fore offering them, proves their growing or germinating qualities. With 
care in planting to the required depth, and the soil suitable, failure is almost impossible with seed that have been success¬ 
fully tested. By strictly observing the following rules for sowing flower seeds, success is certain. 
THE SOI L _A mellow loam, which is a medium earth between the extremes of clay and sand, enriched with a com¬ 
post of rotten manure and leaf mold, is adapted.to the generality of flowering plants. Previous to planting flower beds or 
borders, care must be taken that they are so arranged that the ground may be a little elevated in the middle, that the water 
may run off, and that the plants may show to better advantage. 
Do not plant any of the seeds when the ground is wet. Make the surface' as fine and smooth as possible. Cover each 
sort of seed to a depth proportionate to its sizes : the finest, like Portulacca, Campanula, Digitalis, &c. , should be merely 
sprinkled on the surface of the ground, and barely covered with finely sifted, light, mellow soil ; press the soil down firmly 
over the seed with* brick or short piece of board. For larger seeds the depth should be regulated according to the size of 
the seed, those of the size of a pin head, one-half inch deep, and those the size of a pea three-fourths of an inch,. 
Procure a bit of lath (it would b§ better if planed smooth) about two feet long, press the edge down into the.soil evenly, 
so as to make a‘groove as deep as the seed is to be planted; scatter the seed along this, allowing four or five of the larger to 
fifteen or twenty of the smaller seeds to the space one plantis to occupv when grown. Cover the seed by pressing the earth 
together over it, then turn your lath flat-ways, and press the soil down firmly and evenly. 
All flowers raised from seed are usually known as Annuals, Biennials or Perennials. 
ANNUALS— Are those plants which flower, or ripen their seeds or fruits the season they are sown. and. then perish. 
This class of plants is again divided by the cultivator into two classes—the hardy and half-hardy or tender kinds. 
HARDY ANNUA LS —Are those which require no artificial heat at any period of their growth, every stage of their 
development from germination to ripening of the seed being passed in the open ground. 
They are the most easily cultivated of all plants ; the number of their varieties is large, and their flowers, when properly 
grown, are frequently of the most attractive beauty and elegance. It is only to be regretted that they are not generally cul¬ 
tivated to that extent to which their merit justly entitles them. . 
HALF-HARDY ANNUA LS —Are those species that flower and ripen their seeds in the open air, but need the 
assistance of artificial heat in the earlierstages of their growth. They should be sown in a hot-bed, or in pots in-a greenhouse, 
if onq is available, or in a sunny window. Ke-p them well shaded, which will prevent absorption by the rays of the sun, 
and the consequent necessity of frequent watering, which bakes the soil and does much mischief to seeds of slow growth. 
Towards the middle or end of February, many of the seedlings will be ready for tiansplanting to borders; but previous to 
this exposure it will be necessary to harden them preparatory to removal, by gradually admitting air to the frame both day 
and night. 
BIENNIALS AND P E REN N IA LS— Biennials are those plants that do not generally flower the first year, 
and are only in perfection one season. Perennials continue to flower several years in succession. The seed may be sown, 
as has already been stated, at times when the ground is moist, hut not very wet. Many of them may be raised in the open 
ground, like hardy annuals and transplanted ; but tender or half-hardy kinds should be sown as directed for half-hardy 
annuals. They may be thinned out or removed from the seed bed as soon as they are well rooted, and planted either in diff¬ 
erent parts of the garden or nurserv beds, in rows a foot apart. The half-hardy or tender bienniels and tender perennials 
must be protected from frost by a cloth or mat being fastened or tied around them, and covered afterwards with leaves or 
The ground should be well pulverized and light enough not to bake after a rain. (Some of the more delicate and finer 
varieties are better sown in boxes or seed pans, where they can be better handled and protected from hard rains or cold 
weather; the other kinds do not transplant well, and are better sown at once where they are to remain, or a few seeds may 
be sown in small pots to facilitate transplanting into the garden without disturbing the plants, when large enough.) Water¬ 
ing should be done carefully, and if not done with a syringe, a wateiing pot, where the holes of the spout are very fine, 
should be used. . . 
The smaller seeds of Greenhouse Plants are sometimes difficult to germinate, unless great care be taken in the mode of sow¬ 
ing. Fine seeds of this description should be sown in leaf mould or peat, witb some fine sand added to it; press firmly down 
in the seed pan or pot, and make perfectly level at the top, so that the mould may not afterward sink materially with water¬ 
ing. Sow the seed very thin, and cover very lightly with a little compost, or with silver sar.d. Success is more certain if a 
pane of glass i§ placed over the pan or box till the plants have appeared, when it should be removed. As soon as the young 
plants have two leaves, they should be transplanted into similar compost in another pan or box; to do this, do not pull them 
out of the seed-pan, but break up the soil by running a stick or trowel under it, when the plants can be taken out with good 
roots. After transplanting, they should be kept in a shaddy part of the greenhouse for a few days, until they are established 
in the new soil. . , _ 
There are many minute plants, from the finer seeds, killed by drenching with water while very young. One way to avoid 
this is to give the water by dipping a clothes-brush in water, shaking off the greater part of the water from the brush, and 
then (holding the brush over the seed-pan) drawing the hand over the bristles several times, which will cause the water to be 
