186 
THE FLORIST# 
in a small space. My plan has been, to put two or three plants of 
each of the best twenty-four or thirty-six varieties in a small bed by 
themselves, at a distance from all others. 
The large plants struck in summer, and ready for autumn plant¬ 
ing, are not, in my opinion, at all suited for such a seed-bed. I ob¬ 
serve that, as a general rule, very little seed is to be had from large 
strong growing plants in the early part of the season, when the best 
seed ought to be obtained. I would advise, then, for the seed-bed, 
autumn-struck cuttings, to be planted out in the month of March. 
The bed should not be over - manured; for the ranker the plants 
grow, the less will be the prospect of seed-pods. 
When the plants come into bloom, do not leave more than two 
or three flowers upon each at a time ; and do not let more than the 
same number of seed-pods ripen upon them at once. Sometimes it 
will be found almost impossible to save seed from certain varieties : 
in such cases, artificial fertilisation may be attempted, and will oc¬ 
casionally answer. 
Where numbers of plants of the same variety never throw a 
fruitful seed-pod, I have sometimes fertilised the whole number of 
blooms on the plants with some choice flowers from my other beds ; 
and have thus succeeded in obtaining a few seed-pods. My plan 
has been, to remove the petals from the flower selected ; to pick off 
the pistil; and then make use of all the anthers, by brushing them in 
a body on the pistil of the bloom to be fertilised : this may be a 
wasteful plan, but it is much less troublesome than operating with 
each separate anther by means of a pair of tweezers. 
The seed, when saved, may be sown at the end of the summer; 
and should any more be gathered after that period, it may be sown 
at the end of March. My friend Mr. Turner says, “ Gather your 
seed when it is ripe, or the sparrows will save you the trouble for 
the same reason I say, when you sow your seed, put a net over it. 
I have often seen the small birds busied about my newly-sown beds, 
but had never suspected them of pilfering the seed. I thank Mr. 
Turner for his hint, which I extend to the seed in the ground as well 
as to that in the pod. 
I find that it tends to increase the interest in raising seedlings, 
to save the seed from the different varieties separately, so as to know 
the plants raised from each variety; this is easily done by having a 
number of marked boxes. 
There may be nothing new in these remarks ; but I have been 
tempted to make them in consequence of seeing Mr. Edwards’s ar¬ 
ticle, which, though a step forward on the right way, does not seem 
to me to go far enough. 
J. H. G. 
