and Vines do not require a large supply of stimulants. Plant the Ferns and Mosses on the shadiest side, and trail over the stones small vines, like the Lysimachia numerlaria, Vinca, minor and major, Moneywort, Lobelias, varieties of the Sedums, and the various Annuals mentioned under that head, as desirable for rock work. The varieties of the Saxifragora, with their broad leaves, and large clusters of bright pink or red flowers, are very effective among the trailing vines and ferns.

A small Evergreen tree will show to advantage from some rocky point.

The Alpine Plants are also lovely for such constructions.

Crocus bulbs can be planted among the smaller stones, and in the early Spring will make a fine show. After they have bloomed, their places can be filled with Dwarf Asters and Dwarf Stocks, Phlox Drummondii and Pinks.

Rockeries can be rendered very ornamental additions to the lawn or shrubbery, but they require a tasteful eye to construct them, and a loving hand to tend them; without these they can never be eye-sweet.

2

CHAPTER III.

ANNUALS-THEIR CULTURE AND TREATMENT.

"Come, ye soft sylphs,

Teach the fine seed, instinct with life, to shoot
In earth's cold bosom, its descending root;
With pith elastic, stretch its rising stem,
Part the twin lobes, expand the throbbing gem;
Clasp in your airy arms the aspiring plume,
Fan with your balmy breath its kindling bloom;
Each widening scale, and bursting film unfold,

Swell the green cup, and tint the flower with gold."

Annuals are considered the chief ornaments of the flower garden throughout the summer and autumn, and many of them are desirable for house culture.

They have great claims upon our attention, and should be more extensively cultivated in every garden. It is impossible to plant, in a private plat of ground, all the kinds and varieties that are offered to us in the Seedsmen's Catalogues, but a judicious selection of the best kinds will give a charming assortment of brilliant flowers.

It is almost superfluous to mention that annuals are plants which spring from seed, and perfect their growth and seed, and perish with the autumn; though their life may be prolonged by cutting off the flowers, not allowing the seed-pods to form, and keeping them housed in the winter.

They are divided into hardy; half-hardy and tender; and are natives of various lands. Many of them have been greatly improved, by the care and patience of the florist, from their normal state, and transformed into flowers of the most gorgeous hues, and the most perfect shape.

Asters, Balsams, Larkspurs, Petunias, Portulaccas. Stocks and Zinnias have all become exceedingly double and of every brilliant hue; while many others have had their flowers much increased in size, and otherwise improved.

These flowers are more generally, cultivated than any other class of flowers, and they, alike, adorn the yard of the cottage, and the parterre of the palace.

They will grow almost anywhere, and in any kind of soil, but thrive much better if heed is paid to their wants, and they are provided with a sunny location, well drained, and are well supplied with rich sandy loam; though there are some kinds which prefer a clayey soil. There are only a few which require a very rich soil, yet, most of them will reward you with a brighter show of flowers if well fed. It does not pay to starve plants, any more than to starve animals.

It is very desirable to locate your garden where it can be in constant view from the windows of the house; flowers are our bosom friends and we desire to have them always in sight; when weary they refresh one, when happy they add to one's happiness, and when sad and gloomy they give to one pleasant thoughts, smooth the care-worn brow, and uplift the heart to the Giver of all good things.

To prepare the soil, let Mr. O'Shovelem dig up the grass-plat, if needful, and prepare the beds in front of the piazza, porch or sitting room, if it has a southeast direction; if not, take the next best, a southwestern location. Few plants will thrive well in a northern exposure, though Pansies love the shade, and will flourish there. If you can procure a compost of sand (not sea sand), leaf mould, loam and manure-a quarter of each-you will have as good soil as you can desire; but if not within reach, take what offers, and if it is heavy and stiff, add sand to lighten it; if friable and light, add ashes, muck or soil from old pastures, taken from under the sods. This is always desirable. Sand is also an essential.

Laying out the Beds.

Have the garden well spaded over, and then lay out the beds. If you have a geometrical eye, you can mark out circles, semi-circles, triangles, stars, diamonds and all sorts of curved beds; and if you can have all the assistance you desire from "men-folks," border their edges with narrow strips of turf, which must be kept closely shaven, and not allowed to encroach upon the beds.

If you depend upon your own exertions, avoid the turf; for it exacts too much hard muscular work for women to encounter.

A bordering is now manufactured of Terra Cotta, which is highly praised; and it is said to withstand the frost and snow of the coldest regions. The Drain Pipe and Terra Cotta works in New York, make several styles. Tiles are also introduced with good effect. Box edgings are always tasteful and pretty. If you can possess none of these, you can, at least, border the beds with Dwarf Annuals and Perennials. The Tom Thumb plants of every kind are very pretty for this purpose; the stone-crop and, indeed, all the varieties of Sedums, make effective edgings. Gypsophila muralis is also beautiful for an edging, and its spray-like flowers are indispensable for both vase and bouquet. They cover the flowers like a mist, increasing their charms by partly veiling them.

Sowiny the Seed, etc.

The hardy varieties, like Candytuft, Phlox Drummondii, Sweet Alyssum, Sweet Peas, etc., can be sown as soon as the ground becomes a little warm, and the weather is in a degree settled. Indeed, all these kinds, and many others, will bloom earlier in the summer if they are planted in the autumn. The frost and snow does not disturb their rest. Sweet Peas are very essential for all gardens. Their fragance is grateful to all; and a bunch of the new colored ones, mingled with the old favorites, equals the soft and liquid tints of the sunset cloud. But don't put Scarlet Geraniums or Verbenas among them; their vivid hues will pale and dim the beauteous Peas.

They bloom much more profusely, if planted four or five inches in depth, and are not so apt to mildew.

The half-hardy annuals should not be sown, excepting in the South, before the middle of May; and the tender ones, not until June, if one desires good success in their vegetation and growth.

A large amount of vexation might be avoided if amateur florists would pay a little heed to natural laws.

For both half-hardy and tender Annuals, planting in-doors, or under glass, is very needful. If this is done, they can be brought forward so as to bloom by the last of June, or the first of July, and one is fully repaid for the extra trouble by their graceful, lovely flowers. All these varieties of Annuals require transplanting. No Aster, Petunia, Stock or Zinnia will show its beauty if not allowed plenty of room in which

to grow and bloom. So, it is as well to transplant them from boxes, or hotbeds, early in the summer, when all fear of frost is past, as to do it later from the garden beds.

Seeds of various sizes require different depths of covering. The smaller the seed, the less the soil it needs to plant it, and the finer the soil should be.

Portulaccas, Petunias, and all tiny seeds, should be mixed with sand, and sprinkled or sifted on to the earth prepared for them, and then gently pressed down with the flat of the trowel or the hoe. The general rule for planting has been to the depth of three times the diameter of the seed.

Too deep planting is a fruitful source of the usual loss of seeds, so much complained of by amateur gardeners.

The several essentials to successful germination of seeds of all kinds are suitable soil, suitable moisture and warmth; if these are in excess, or not sufficient, some, if not all, of the seeds will fail.

In planting seeds in the open border, the soil must be thoroughly pulverized, no little lumps left in it to destroy plant life.

Rake in the seeds, scattering them thinly around; or, a better way is to tie a string to two small sticks; plant one of them firmly in the earth, and with the other draw a circle of the dimensions you may desire; wind up the string until you have it of the right length, then plant the seeds in the circle, and label them. Don't trust to your memory for the names, and then say "this pink flower, that red one, and the other blue or yellow one," but learn their names, and call them by them.

One often rebels at the many-syllabled word that is applied to a tiny mite of a flower; yet, that same Latin word tells to every botanist its class and order, while the common, familiar, local name is recognized only by one language.

Miss Mitford says: "One is never thoroughly sociable with flowers until they are naturalized, as it were, christened, provided with decent, homely, well-wearing English names.”

The practice of giving Latin names to flowers and plants has been styled pedantic. It is not so; for it conveys an idea of the flower to every student of Botany and Gardening in every nation.

Leigh Hunt thus writes upon the names of flowers:

"Pink is not by itself a pretty name, but we have associated it since our first dawnings of infancy, with the sweetness of the flower, so now