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Flower Seeds—How to Plant —Answer to Bessie. 
We promised to tell you how to grow the seeds, the 
names of which we mentioned in January, and will 
now do so as briefly as possible. Full directions for 
each would require quite too large a space in our 
paper. First we will name them, beginning with the 
most hardy, which you may sow as soon in the spring 
as the frost is out of the ground and the earth has 
somewhat dried : Sweet Pea, Sweet Alyssum, Morn¬ 
ing Glory, Mignonette, Candytuft and Portulaca; 
then .those less hardy, as the Phlox Drummondii, 
French Marigold and Balsams; and lastly, the most 
tender, the Hyacinth bean, which must not be jflanted 
until the days and nights are quite warm. Seeds of 
different sizes may be put at different depths in the 
ground, some an inch or two and some as near the 
surface as you can place them and still have them 
covered. You will have some of each of these kinds 
in your garden, and if you will look at the names in 
order written above we will tell about the depth, be¬ 
ginning with those that may be the deepest: Nos. 1 
and 10, about one and a half inches; Nos. 3, 4, 5 and 
9, one-half inch; Nos. 2, 8 and 7, one-quarter inch; 
and lastly, No. 6, the smallest of all, to be barely 
covered. Now we will call them off again in the 
order of soil they want, those that will like the poorest 
soil first; now look at the names as before, and see 
Nos. 4 and G; all the rest will want rich soil. How 
about sunshine, No. 1 wants but little; Nos. 2, 3, 4, 
7 and 8 want more; and Nos. 5, 6, 9 and 10 a great 
deal; now you will want to know how thick to sow 
them; you cannot get them sown just where you 
want, as to Jiandle each seed of Mignonette or Portu- 
laca, would exhaust even your patience. If you have 
room make two or three patches each of Nos. 2, 4, 5, 
0, 7, 8 and 9, and each patch as large as two pages of 
the Cabinet, and when they are 2 or 3 inches high 
thin them out, leaving 4 or 5 inches between each 
plant, except Nos. 9 and 8, which must be one foot apart; 
you may set out again in other places those plants 
you have thus removed; No. 7 does not transplant 
well; Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 8 do better; and Nos. 6 and 
9 very easily, wanting no protection from the sun ; and 
No. 9 maybe moved even when in flower; sow the 
seeds of the climbers where you want them to remain, 
the Sweet Peas about 4 inches apart; and the Morn¬ 
ing Glories and beans about 9 inches. 
Now if you can figure all the above out and do not 
get your numbers mixed, you will no doubt have 
some nice flowers. The Sweet Alyssum, Sweet Pea, 
Phlox D., Candytuft, Marigold, and Mignonette can 
be cut for nosegays. The Balsams can, without stems, 
be laid tastefully in a saucer of water ; the beans are 
good any way ; while the Morning Glories and Portu- 
laca perish in a few hours even without being cut. 
All the plants named are annuals, living only one 
season, so you can gather some ripe seeds for your 
next trial if you wish. 
Everblooming Geranium. —Will Lady Cullum in 
the February Cabinet, page 21, please tell me in 
our next the name of that “everblooming Geranium,” 
for I wish to get one, ours in this part of the country 
don’t bloom so much. 
Fall River, Mass. 
D. Davis. 
Onion Lily. —What Isabel Bethel calls Onion 
Lily, 1 call Star of Bethlehem, which I think the 
right name, as no Lily has a bulb like that. 
0. R. W. 
Susan Found.—In answer to F. C. M., would say 
that Thunbergia Aurantiaca is very often called Black 
Eyed Susan. A word in reference to raising and 
blooming Geraniums from seeds. I had fifty good 
plants last summer, from seed which were planted on 
the 15th of November, in a box about three inches 
deep, and about as large as our dear little Cabinet. 
The soil was light chip dirt from the woods, to which 
was added a potful of sand, filling to within about an 
inch of the top. I sprinkled this with warm water 
through a fine nose, planted the seeds one at a time, 
equal distance apart, placed a board on top, and put 
under the bench of my greenhouse, where it remained 
until they began to peep through. Then placed on the 
bench where they would get the morning sun. They 
grew nicely, and as soon as the third leaf made its ap¬ 
pearance, planted them off into two-inch pots, and 
kept changing them as often as they required, until 
the last of May, when I set them out in the border. 
By the last of August were all in bloom. One was 
from seed of the Gen. Grant, grew seven inches high, 
and bloomed as handsomely as the old plant. My 
secret in having Geraniums bloom from seed the first 
year, is to jdant the seed early. Miss G. H. W. 
Smilax.—I have a Smilax 'that vines, but throws 
out no leaves. When the vine is about a foot high, 
it shrivels and dies. What is the matter ? 
Syracuse, N. Y. M. L. S. 
Answer. —Probably too wet and cold. 
Cuphea.—What treatment does the Cuphea (cigar 
plant) requires ? Minegrew and blossomed finely in the 
garden, but after taking it in the house the leaves dry 
up and drop off. Do they need to be put in a cellar 
for a rest ? Mrs. J. P. 
Haverhill, Mass. 
Answer. —The.Cuphea should not be put in cellars, 
if taken up carefully it will flower all the winter. 
Your plant probably got very dry when it was lifted. 
Floral Ornament. - A curious and beautiful orna¬ 
ment can be made by taking the bowl of a broken 
goblet, covering it with red flannel, wet thoroughly, 
roll in flax seed, then place into a saucer, which must 
be kept filled with water. The seed, if kept in a 
warm room, will sprout in a few days and will soon 
become a mass of living green. Lizzie Rains. 
Yellow Verbena.—I notice in January No. the 
question, Who ever heard of a blue Rose or yellow 
Verbena ? I never saw a blue Rose, but know of a 
lady who had a yellow Verbena. It was a seedling, 
and came up in the bed where she had Verbenas the 
year before. She did not save it for I sup'pose she 
thought it would come up the next year, but I never 
have heard of it since. She used burnt seaweed for 
enriching the soil. Last fall my hanging basket 
looked rather bare, so I took some branches of Ger¬ 
man Ivy, put the ends in a bottle of water, which I 
sunk in the dirt, and twined the branches around the 
basket. They looked just as if they grew there, and 
several of the pieces blossomed. The bottle is now 
full of roots. Marke t, e. 
White Jessamine.—Will White Jessamine live 
out doors all winter; also Cape Jessamine? Will 
Crape Myrtle bloom all winter in the house ? 
Felicity, Ohio. E. A. P. 
Answer. —The hardy White Jessamine will live out 
of doors. Cape Jessamine is not hardy. Crape 
Myrtle will not flower in winter. 
Oxalis.—IstheOxalis Valdiviana, annual or peren¬ 
nial ? I sowed the seed of it last spring and it is in blos¬ 
som now. Will it blossom next winter if I take it up ? 
When is the best time for putting hardy bulbs, as 
Lilium Auratum &c., into the ground? I have some 
piretty single Petunias which I wish for the window 
garden. Shall I take slips or take up the whole 
plant ? I have a Pelargonium which is two years 
old, three feet high and has never blossomed. Shall I 
cut it back. A Subscriber. 
Massachusetts. 
Afiswer. —The Oxalis all have bulbs or tubers, 
they will probably flower next winter if grown in pots. 
Lilium Auratum can be planted as soon as frost is gone 
in spring, but will not succeed so well the first year. 
Petunia cuttings should be rooted late in spring and 
grown in pots for flowering in the winter; old plants 
are not worth taking up. The best time to cut down 
Pelargoniums is in J uly or August, after flowering. 
Acacia.— Please inform me through the Cabinet 
what treatment the Acacia needs, and also what soil 
&c., is best for Ferneries ? What Ferns are best for 
small cases ? Mrs. N. H, Beeiier. 
Answer. —The Acacia is best out of doors during 
summer, it requires abundance of water; most of the 
species being trees soon out-grow a moderate space ; 
the plant only requires being kept in a light place free 
from frost in winter. Peaty soil from the woods is 
best for Ferneries; the small-growing Adiantums, 
Lomarias and Selaginella are best for small cases. 
Black Eyed Susans. — In answer to the question 
in February No., Susan wanted, who is she ? please 
tell F C. M., that I know of a number of “ black- 
eyed ” Susans who belong to the animal kingdom. 
Probably those F. C. M., has reference to are the 
little red beans with a black eye, which came from the 
West India Islands, and are commonly called West 
India beans. Miss. K. R. IIolway. 
Mignonette.— Please tell me the name of the en¬ 
closed flower, the seed of which was obtained from 
Messrs. Briggs & Bro., for Mignonette. If the seed 
were genuine why is not the plants raised from them 
fragrant ? L. 
Ansiver. — The Mignonette seed probably failed to 
grow from drought, and the specimen you inclose is a 
sprig of some weed of a more accommodating nature 
which might have been in the ground before. 
Lily Seed. — Will some one be so kind as to tell me 
the best way to get Lily seed to grow, and how long 
should the Smilax rest and what time of the year? 
F. M. H. 
Ansiver. —Lily seed should be sown as soon as 
ripe and kept in a frame just moist; it is often two 
years before coming up, and several more before flow¬ 
ering. Smilax need not rest at all. 
Tree Peony.— Mrs. W. Ballard, of Jesse’s Store, 
Ky., desires to know something of the nature of Tree 
Peony; also the names of the prettiest hardy climb¬ 
ing Roses, that bloom all summer ? 
Answer. — Tree Peony is shrubby and would no 
doubt succeed well in your district; the flowers are 
handsome and very fragrant. Marshal Niel, La- 
marque, and Devoniensis, ought to be hardy in your 
district and are among the best continual blooming 
Roses. 
Questions.—1. How is the Cahidium Esculentmn 
propagated ? 2. Will the Gladiolus flourish as a pot 
plant, in the window ? 3. Will the Oleander grow 
from seed, and when is the best to plant the seed? 
St. Louis. C. M. 
Ansiver. — 1. From roots. 2. Yes. 3. It does not 
usually seed, is grown from cuttings and grafts. 
