Part 12 (1/2)

Plant trees and shrubs in your yard and border your ure a lawn by placing a bed of flowers in it Use the flowers rather to decorate the shrubbery, and for borders along walks, and in the corners near steps, or against foundations

If you wish to raise flowers for the sake of flowers, not as decorations, make the flower-beds in the back yard or at the side of the house

[Illustration: FIG 97 A BACK YARD TO REFINE THE CHILDREN OF THE FAMILY]

Plants s The rooting of cuttings is an interesting task to all who are fond of flowers Those who have no greenhouse and ish to root cuttings of geraniu way Take a shallow pan, an old-fashi+oned milk pan for instance, fill it nearly full of clean sand, and then wet the sand thoroughly Stick the cuttings thickly into this wet sand, set the pan in a warm, sunny , and keep the sand in the sas will root well in a feeeks and s of tea roses should have two or three joints and be taken from a stem that has just made a flower Allow one of the rose leaves to re into the sand and it will root in about four weeks Cuttings of Cape jaseranius of the roots

[Illustration: FIG 98 REPOTTING]

Bulbs are sihtly around one another and inclosing the bud that makes the future flower-stalk The hyacinth, the narcissus, and the coarden onion are examples of bulbous plants The flat part at the bottom of the bulb is the stem of the plant reduced to a flat disk, and between each two adjacent leaves on this flat steround there is a bud at the base of a leaf These buds on the steroever, unless forced to do so artificially The nurow and for hyacinths the , and the under part of the flat stem is carefully scraped away to expose the base of the buds The bulbs are then put in heaps and covered with sand In a feeeks each bud has forrow one season, after which the little bulbs are separated and grown into full-sized bulbs for sale

Other bulbs, like the narcissus or the daffodil, for scraped

[Illustration: FIG 99 A CLEMATIS]

There are soround parts that are commonly called bulbs but which are not bulbs at all; for exaladiolus and the caladiuround parts are bulblike in shape, but are really solid flattened steround stem of the Irish potato These parts are called _corms_ They row

The dahlia reatly like sweet potatoes, but there are no eyes on them as there are on the sweet potato The only eyes are on the base of the stem to which they are joined They s reen shoots, after which they reenhouse and later planted in pots

There are rown froood as the plants froinate new varieties Seeds of the dahlia, for instance, can be sowed in a box in a ware enough to handle, and finally planted in the garden when the weather is warrown by dividing the roots or fros

[Illustration: FIG 100 OUTDOOR-GROWN CHRYSANTHEMUMS]

In growing annual plants froreenhouse or a hotbed with a glass sash Even without these the plants rown in shallow boxes in a warm room The best boxes are about four inches deep with bottoive proper drainage Somethrough The boxes should then be filled with light, rich soil Fine black forest hly mixed with one fourth its bulk of well-rottedthe seed-boxes If this soil be placed in an oven and heated very hot, the heat will destroy ive trouble After the soil is put in the boxes it should be well packed by pressing it with a flat wooden block Sow the seeds in straight rows, and at the ends of the rows put little wooden labels with the names of the flowers on them

[Illustration: FIG 101 THE CARNATION (ELDORADO)]

Seeds sowed in the saeneral size in order that they may be properly covered, for seeds need to be covered according to their size After sowing the seed, sift the fine soil over the surface of the box The best soil for covering sh a sieve together This ht cover that will not bake and will retainthe seeds, press the soil fir soil lightly with a watering-pot until it is fairly lass over the box to retain theuntilmakes the soil too cos have made a second pair of leaves, take them up with the point of a knife and transplant them into other boxes filled in the saive the They arden by taking an old knife-blade and cutting the earth into squares, and then lifting the entire square with the plant and setting it where it is wanted

There are many flower-seeds which are so small that they onias, petunias, and Chinese primroses To sow these prepare boxes as for the other seeds, and press the earth smooth Then scatter some fine, dry moss thinly over the surface of the soil Sprinkle this ater until it is well moistened, and at once scatter the seeds thinly over the surface and cover the boxes with panes of glass until the seeds ger plants can be lifted out separately on the blade of a penknife

[Illustration: FIG 102 THE POET'S NARCISSUS]

Many kinds of flower-seeds round where they are to rerown in this way The seeds should be sowed rather thickly in rows and covered fully four inches deep The sowing should be varied in ti to the climate From North Carolina southward, sweet peas may be sowed in the fall or in January, as they are very hardy and should be forced to bloo will not give fine flowers in the South From North Carolina northward the seeds should be sowed just as early in the spring as the ground can be easily worked When the plants appear, stakes should be set along the rows and a strip of woven-wire fence stretched for the plants to clirow The seeds of the row unless they are slightly cut To start their growth h the hard outer coat of the seed so as to expose the white inside In this way they will grow very readily The seeds of the canna, or Indian-shot plant, are treated in a si

[Illustration: FIG 103 A CYCLAMEN]

[Illustration: FIG 104 A MODERN SWEET PEA]

The canna e fleshy roots which in the North are taken up, covered with dareenhouse or in a cellar If allowed to get too dry, they ither From central North Carolina south it is best to cover theround where they grew In the early spring take the

[Illustration: FIG 105 DAHLIAS]