May 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
blasts must be continued. Unfortunately we have 
still, occasionally, very ungenial weather, which ren¬ 
ders those shelters still necessary : yet do not cover 
up too much. Expose them to the sun whenever 
his beams appear moderate. Should the weather 
have become warmer before these lines meet the eyes 
of our readers, and the sun shine forth in all his 
strength, shade will then be as necessary from too 
great heat as it has been, hitherto, from cold. The 
gardener is a creature of watchfulness against ex¬ 
tremes, at all times, and of all kinds. Too much 
wet, too great drought, too much heat, and its oppo¬ 
site, too much cold, the lover of his flowers will be 
constantly guarding against, and, by the proper ap¬ 
pliances, negativing the ill effects of those extremes. 
Anemone Sowing. —Anemone seed may now be 
sown. The way in which the greatest success was 
achieved that we ever knew we shall try to describe. 
We are quite certain, if the following directions are 
faithfully carried into practice without any crinkum 
crankums of would-be gardeners, the result will be 
highly satisfactory. First, fix upon your bed or beds 
in a moderately warm sheltered part of your garden. 
Then remove the old soil away from the beds to the 
depth of 16 or 18 inches, according to the situation 
of your garden. If it is low and swampy, with a 
wet clay bottom, do not dig so deep: if High and 
dry, or with a sandy or gravelly subsoil, you may go 
a little deeper. The soil being removed, then put in 
from four to six inches of unmixed cowdung, such, 
for instance, as might be gathered up with a spade 
in the fields where these animals feed. Upon this 
layer of dung place as much good fresh loam from 
your compost yard as will raise the beds to their 
former level, or a little higher. Make the surface 
very fine, and then sow the seed. Anemone seed 
requires to be well rubbed with the hand, either 
amongst some sharp sand or finely sifted coal-ashes, 
to separate the seeds. When the seed is sown, cover 
it immediately with some sifted, light, sandy soil, 
three-quarters of an inch. It will soon come up, 
and should be frequently watered in dry weather. 
Beds so made will flower the same year, and will 
produce an amazing quantity of truly magnificent 
flowers. T. Appleby. 
GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW 
GARDENING. 
Growing Cyclamen Seed. — I was much amused, 
one morning last week, on observing a strong looking 
countryman running after me along a shady walk in 
the pleasure grounds. He was nearly out of breath, 
and oozing at every pore, when he came up to me. 
He was carrying a large plant of the Cyclamen per- 
sicum under his arm—and a beautiful plant it was— 
in a nine-inch pot, and just going out of bloom. 
“ Well, sir,” quoth I, “you seem to have overslept 
yourself this morning, being in such a hurry so 
early.” “ No, master, begging your pardon, 1 am 
seldom in bed after five in the morning; but I am 
out of breath.” “ I see you are, and out of the way 
too: don’t you know that we are very particular 
here about letting strangers into these gardens.” “ I 
knows you be, but I am no stranger; the baronet 
knows me since he was a boy: I rent under him at 
Crowfield, only four miles across ; and I was coming 
over to sco him this morning, and I heard say that 
you have been wilting a book about flowers, and I 
says to my wife last night, dash me if I don’t take 
that ’ere cyclamen over to-morrow, and see Sir 
87 
William’s gardener about it. Perhaps he can tell 
me the reason why it won’t seed with us. And here 
I am, rough enough, as you see, owing to this cold 
wind; but, thank goodness, I have a comfortable 
home, and would be glad to see you if you was 
coming over our way. I am sure my wife would be 
very happy.” “Very happy if you were to engage me 
to do her garden, I suppose, eh ? But what is it 
you want me to do about this cyclamen: it seems 
like a large plant—how do you manage it?” “ I 
keep it in the window along with the other plants, 
and give it no water, after the leaves drop off, till 
new leaves come again in the autumn. We had it 
many years, and it always blossoms better than any 
of them I ever saw; but I have tried all sorts of 
advice to get it to seed, but the more I try, the more 
it won’t do it; so, if you would be so good as to put 
me on the right way, I am sure my wife—” “Yes, 
yes; I know you farmers are a kind-hearted, generous 
race; but here, in Suffolk, you have an odd way of 
insisting on your visitors smoking in your ‘ keeping 
rooms and when people go to Rome, they too 
often think they must do as Rome does, for fear of 
becoming marked birds : so, if you please, let me 
examine your plant, and if we can get it to seed next 
year I may come over to see it, but shall not engage 
to smoke. What is the largest number of blossoms 
you have seen on this cyclamen at one time ?” “ I 
have often counted fifty full-blown ones, beside those 
that were coming on and going off.” “ And it never 
seeds?” “No.” “Does it shrivel much in summer 
when dry ?” “ Sometimes; but I believe my wife gives 
it water now and then.” “ You keep it always in the 
window ?” “ Always; and every year it tries to seed, 
but as soon as the stalks begin to coil, the top of them 
withers away, as you see.” “ Well, then, it strikes 
me that you either keep it too dry in summer or give 
it water in a saucer while at rest, and so damage the 
roots; and if the bulb, as we may call it, has to 
renew its roots every year, or is otherwise expended 
by too much drying, it has not sufficient strength 
left to make seeds, for that is the last and greatest 
effort of all plants. Keep the soil moist as long as 
the leaves are green; when they fade, plunge the pot 
in a border in front of your house, so as to be an 
inch below the surface; and, if the soil of the border 
is heavy, put three or four little stones under the pot, 
which, in showery weather, will assist the drainage 
better than if the bottom of the pot were resting on 
tho solid mould. Thus the bulb will be kept in a 
uniform state during its resting time—neither too 
wet nor too dry. In September, as soon as the new 
leaves appear above ground, raise the pot till the 
surface of it is level 'with the top of the border, then 
water it, and leave it out as long as the weather is 
favourable. The leaves will be more firm, and their 
footstalks much stronger, if they are first allowed to 
come to their full size out of doors. Many gardeners 
turn these cyclamens out of their pots, and plant 
them in the borders, about this time, to be repotted 
in the autumn; and that plan answers very well 
with them, but it is more troublesome for amateurs, 
as the roots will spread in the border before tho 
leaves appear, and on being removed are very liable 
to get broken. They must also be fresh potted, and 
the more late that is done in the autumn tho more 
troublesome they will be to pass through the winter. 
Therefore, it will be safer, and just as well, for the 
dry cyclamens to be left in their pots : but to leave 
tliem in a window, or on a shelf to dry all the 
summer, is poor gardening indeed.” 
* Keeping room, a local name for the parlour. 
