TENDER ANNUALS. 
27 
from that necessary to the other portion of the group, inasmuch 
as to secure the strongest plants it is best to sow them in autumn; 
this should be done early in September. Fill a pan with light 
rich mould, scatter the seed evenly over it, and barely cover the 
latter with some of the finest of the compost, and set it in a cold 
frame; if the seed is good it will vegetate quickly, and as soon 
as the young plants can be handled, they should be potted singly 
into small pots, and returned to the frame ; the best description 
of earth for wintering tender things of this nature is a mixture 
in which loam predominates, sand or peat may be added to se¬ 
cure its permeability, but the retentive nature of the loam pre¬ 
cludes the necessity of frequent watering in the dull months, 
when mischief from excessive moisture is most rife. These plants 
after being nursed in the frame a sufficient time to become 
thoroughly established in their pots, should be gradually hardened 
till they will bear a full exposure to the atmosphere, and at the 
time the main body of the plants are returned to their winter 
quarters, they should be stationed on a warm light shelf in the 
greenhouse, elevating them as near to the glass as is convenient; 
there we must leave them for some months, till the spring-sown 
plants require attention. About the end of February a good hot¬ 
bed should be prepared for raising the other members of the 
group, and if this is ready by the first week of March for the 
reception of the seed, with a steady heat of about 70°, the plants 
will grow rapidly, having the advantage of the progressive in¬ 
crease of light and warmth in the season : at the time of sowing 
these, attention must revert to those in the greenhouse. They 
will row require larger pots and fresh; mould let it be given 
without delay, and consist of such materials as will form a rich 
porous body; plenty of root room is essential to their perfect 
development, and though another shifting may be thought of, by 
no means restrict them in this stage. Those in the hotbed must 
be potted and repotted as they advance, so as to preserve them 
from any check, their progress being one uninterrupted con¬ 
tinuance of growth in every case except that of the cockscombs : 
these must be somewhat differently treated : the chief aim in 
their culture being to obtain large heads of flowers on dwarf 
stems. Experience teaches us that to alter the natural character 
of the plant and prevent the extension of its stem, it is necessary 
