404- 
HORTICULTURE. 
ferving them, and their ufe in the Materia Medica, fee the 
article Flower, vol. vii. p. 4.68-470. 
Flowers are clafiecl into annuals, biennials, and peren¬ 
nials. Annuals are thofe that are Town and flower, .and 
generally die, within a year. Biennials are thofe that are 
fown one year, and flower and generally 'die the next; 
though fome of thefe,. by fowing early, and forwarding 
by a little heat, will blow the fame year. Perennials are 
thofe that do not flower the year they are town, but the 
next, and continue to live years afterwards, fome fewer, 
fome more. Of this clafs there is a great variety, perhaps 
fifty to one of the laft, moftly fibrous-rooted, fotiie flefhy, 
fome bulbous, and fome tuberous, See. Mold of the pe¬ 
rennials are annual in their ftalks, which die down to the 
ground in winter, and freflt fhoots rife in thefpring. But, 
ftrifiliy fpeaking, all of each clafs are not annual, biennial, 
and perennial; for fome of the annuals come a fecond- or 
a third year, as Chinefe holyhock and Indian pink ; and 
a few others would live through the winter if houfed. 
Of the biennials, the fame may be faid of the flock July- 
fiower, fweet-william, and wall-flower ; only the former 
of thefe plants does not always live through the winter. 
Of the perennials, lome do not flower well above three or 
four years, as the holyhock, See. for which a flowing 
fliould of courfe take place the year before they are wanted. 
A few may alfo go off the fecond year, having perfected 
only one blow. For a more perfeft knowledge of this 
department of Horticulture, fee the article Botany, in 
our third volume, and the correfpondent Engravings. 
Culture of Annuals. —Mid-March is a good time to 
flow the tender forts, though the curious and fkilful florift, 
being well furnifhed with proper frames, may begin a 
month fooner; the end of March, or beginning of April, 
is, however, not too late, and will perhaps better fuit 
thofe who are inexperienced. In order to fucceed well, 
there fliould be provided fine dry and rich earth, good 
liable-dung, frames and lights, or hand-glafles, and mats 
to cover. A moderately-ftrong hot-bed, for a one-light 
frame, may be prepared, and, the heat being fomewhat 
abated, the feeds fliould be fown thinly in drills, two or 
'three inches afunder, on five or fix inches of mould, or 
lefs on a weak bed: or flow in pots, plunged to the rims. 
Cover the feeds from a quarter to half an inch, or more, 
according to their fize. Some of them will appear in a 
few days, and others will lie a fortnight or more, accord¬ 
ing to the circumftances of their nature, age, and the heat 
or moiflure they meet with in the bed. Wafer, juft warm, 
fliould be gently given them, as they appear to need it ; 
and air, as much as they can be thought to bear, a little 
at firft, and by degrees more, for this is elfential to their 
health and ftrength. 
Provide another bed by one month from the flowing, to 
fet the plants out in; and, having fix inches depth of 
mould, place them five or fix inches al'under, allotting 
thofe to the warmeft part of the bed which were longelt 
coming up, and which are of courfe the weakeft; or they 
may be put out in final! pots of five inches diameter; 
placing the tailed: behind. If not fown till the beginning 
of April, this fecond bed may poflibly do for the whole 
bufmefs, with proper management to keep up its heat, 
and covering well on nights; but a third bed is com¬ 
monly neceffary, in order to bring the plants on forward 
and fine. In this bed, it being covered over with four or 
five Inches of mould, the plants fliould be in fmall pots, 
one in each, and plunged an inch deep, clofe to one ano¬ 
ther. As the bed gets cooler, the pots are to be earthed 
higher, till up to the rims in mould ; but, if planted with¬ 
out pots, the diftance fliould be eight or nine inches 
afunder. As thefe tender annuals cannot bear the full 
open air till Midfurnmer, give them as much of it as pof- 
fible in the frames, by degrees even taking off the glafles 
in the middle part of mild days. Keep up a heat in the 
third bed as long as can be, that the plants may continue 
In a growing flare, and not get ftunted by cold at bottom. 
It is hardly neceffary to hint that the beds mult be 
larger, and frames deeper, every time the plantsare fliifted. 
As the firft frame was a one-light, let the fecond be a two- 
light, and the third a three-light, which may be railed 
upon bricks, or boarded round the bottom, as occafion 
may require. From the fmall pots, let them be trans¬ 
planted into bigger in time, or into warm borders, where, 
if covered with hand-glafles fet on bricks for a while, it 
would fecure them from unkind weather, till got a little 
hardened. In this changeable climate of England, there 
is hardly any knowing when tender plants may be ex- 
pofed lately; yet too much hdufing and covering is to be 
avoided as much as poflible. Some of the tender .flowers 
in pots may be plunged to the rims in the ground, to 
keep their roots cool, and for the fake- of being conveni¬ 
ently covered; in which cafe, it is proper to put a bit of 
tile underneath the pot to keep out worms, which are apt 
to do great mifebief. Good feed from tender annuals 
will not be well had, but from February-fown plants. 
Skilful gardeners, flowing early, and having plenty of 
dung and drawing-frames, produce furprifing plants of the 
tender annual clafs ; fo that the globe-amaranth has been 
railed to three, and the giant coxcomb, and tricolor, from 
three to five or fix, feet high. Tender flowers, defigned to 
gather feed from, fliould begin to have fome preteftion of 
glafs about Mid-Auguft, at leaft during the nights, till 
they are fully ripened in September. 
The lefs-tender annuals might have a flighter bed, about 
two feet thick, made for them at Mid-March, or a little 
after, being fown and managed as above direfiled for the 
tender forts. V/hen they are one or two inches high, 
they mull be taken up with a ball of earth about then- 
roots, and either transplanted on another bed, about one 
and a half foot thick of dung, or into the borders or 
ground; the fmall kinds at four or five, and the larger at 
fix or eight, inches afunder. Let them be watered and 
kept moift, and Ihaded from fun till well fettled. Spindle- 
rooted plants, as flocks, &c. fliould be moved where they 
are to blow as young as may be; but fibrous-rooted ones 
may be Ihifted much older. 
The hardy annuals may be fown from the middle to 
the end of March, as the beft average feafon. But na¬ 
ture feenis evidently to direfit an autunm-fowing, for 
many forts which are then Hied come up at fpring, and 
make the fineft blow, and produce the belt feed for pro¬ 
pagation. A number, therefore, might be lcattered on 
the furface of the ground at random, after being kept a 
little while to harden. A fecond, or even a third, fowing 
of hardy annuals may be made, at two or three weeks 
apart, to continue the blow, efpecially of thofe that come 
early, and are foon oft’; Mid-May is not too late. In 
fliort, of every flower that blow's in. fummer, there may be 
three flowings, and two of thofe that come in autumn, in 
order to a full fucceflion. But, as hardy annuals do not 
tranfplant well, they fliould be fown where they are to 
remain, and they muft have a good foil in order to fuc- 
cefs. A few choice forts fliould be fown in pots, fetting 
them where they have only the morning fun ; and, when in 
flower, they will ferve to put into any particular place or 
apartment for ornament. 
Of Biennials. —Thefe are to be fown in drills, or in 
beds, at broadcaft, the latter end of March, or beginning 
of April, where they have only the morning fun, and the 
ground fliould be cool, or kept fo by occafional watering j 
the beginning of May, however, is not too late. Thin 
the young plants on the feed-beds foon after they appear, 
and keep them well weeded. They may either remain 
till autumn to be, planted out where they are to blow; or, 
if the)'’ grow too ftrong and crowding, let every other be 
drawn in fummer, and planted out wider into nurfery- 
beds for ufe in autumn, or the following fpring. The 
latter feafon will do for final planting, though the former 
is beft, as the roots get eftablifhed in the ground ; when 
if moved in the fpring they are apt to meet with a check. 
I11 fevere winters, however, thole moved in autumn are 
f’ometimes killed, and therefore a few may he referved to ^ 
faring 5 
