THE LADIES' FLORAL CABINET. 
119 
not come amiss. Shallow boxes and pots are best for 
sowing the seeds in, and they should have good drain¬ 
age; let the compost be good rich loam (without ma¬ 
nure) and sand in equal parts. Wet it and set in the 
stove oven and bring to a scalding heat, dont bake it-, 
this will destroy all insects and their larva. 
Let the soil cool off, then stir it until it is light and 
finely pulverized; now fill up your boxes, leaving the 
surface smooth, sprinkle it through the sieve of the 
watering-pot and sow the seeds evenly upon it and 
cover by sifting the soil over; an old flour sieve may be 
utilized for this purpose, but care should be taken not 
to cover them too deeply. 
Small seeds like Cineraria should be covered very 
lightly. Now press the soil down lightly with some 
smooth surface like pasteboard, and cover with glass or 
a folded cloth cut to fit inside the box; this should be 
wet and laid directly upon the earth. 
Set the boxes and pots in some warm corner or where 
they may receive a gentle heat to hasten their move¬ 
ments a little, but bear in mind that “ too great haste 
makes waste.” As soon as the plants begin to lift their 
heads above the soil, uncover and set at the windows. 
Under favorable conditions, seeds sown as directed 
above will germinate in two weeks; but, should they be 
tardy in making their appearance, don’t get discouraged 
and declare the seeds are worthless, but continue to keep 
the soil moist, and wait patiently and hopefully; for 
while some varieties of the Primula come up promptly 
in two weeks, other kinds lie dormant as many months, 
and this is true of the Primula Japonica. 
Amateurs not knowing this, after waiting, as they 
think, a sufficient time without any signs of germina¬ 
tion, get disgusted and empty their seed-boxes, or let 
them dry off, when, if they had exercised a little more 
patience and perseverance, in due time they would have 
been rewarded with some fine plants, and the seedsman 
would have been spared a very equivocal blessing for 
selling poor seeds. 
The seedsman is often blamed for sending out poor 
seed, when, if the truth could be ascertained regarding 
the matter, it would be found that through our own 
ignorance and stupidity the seeds failed to germinate. 
“More light,” the cry of the German sage, should be 
the motto of the amateur when growing plants from 
what are termed greenhouse seeds; for there is no royal 
road to success other than what comes of our knowledge 
of their requirements, and making the conditions as 
favorable as circumstances will permit. And the more 
information you get on this subject, and the older your 
experience, the fewer poor seeds you will find. 
Mrs. G. W. Flanders. 
HARDY FERNS FOR SHADED GARDEN. 
We are indebted to the Garden (London) for the fol¬ 
lowing useful information iu regard to planting in 
localities or situations that are too frequently ne¬ 
glected. 
One frequently hears the remark made that plants do 
not succeed in certain gardens, but on inquiry it gener¬ 
ally turns out that the plants selected have not been 
suited to the positions they occupy. Although some 
plants delight in abundant sunlight, others are equally 
at home in deep shade, and it is only by observation 
as to what conditions are most favorable for certain 
plants, and selecting them accordingly that success 
can be achieved. In this locality, wherever the situa¬ 
tion is open to sunshine, bright-flowering plants are the 
favorites, and thus many of our villa gardens are kept 
gay nearly the whole year round, the latest Chrysan¬ 
themums not being long removed before early flowering 
bulbs and many other plants are iu blossom. But all 
gardens cannot have full south aspects, and it is re¬ 
freshing on bright summer days to find, instead of sum¬ 
mer bedding-plants, gardens in shady places filled with 
the verdant foliage of hardy Ferns and of other plants 
that dislike sunshine. When -well established it is sur¬ 
prising how effective even the commonest of our native 
Ferns are planted in shade, and how beautiful they 
make many an otherwise uninteresting corner look ; 
even little borders by hard-paved yards or ground be¬ 
neath large trees where nothing else will grow may be 
made cheerful by means of Ferns. Get together a few 
of the largest and roughest stones that can be obtained, 
and a load or two of good soil ; make irregular mounds 
here and there, and on these plant the Ferns. Intermix 
with them a few dwarf trailing plants, keep them well 
watered, and they will soon produce a striking effect. 
THE FLOWERING OF THE STAPELIA. 
At the meeting of the Botanical Section of the Aca¬ 
demy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Mr. Thomas 
Meehan exhibited specimens of Stapelia bufonia in va¬ 
rious stages of growth, inflorescence and fruit, and 
pointed out that though there were axillary buds of 
more or less prominence at the base of what we had to 
call leaves, yet the flowers rarely proceeded from these, 
but from lateral accessory buds. When the axillary 
buds developed they produced branches and not flowers. 
The lateral accessory buds usually developed into mi¬ 
nute abortive flowers, with a membraneous scale or 
bract in the place of the primary leaf. These observa¬ 
tions were made on plants which had been planted in 
the open ground during the summer and were repotted 
in the fall and replaced in a warm greenhouse. The 
branches commented on had grown since that time, and 
might be termed the second growth of the same season. 
When the plants were being potted, having more than 
