wool or silk (it is better when it is the color
of the flower) and let it go to seed. Take special care of the plant,
and cut off all other flowers as you wish to gather them. Watch the
seed-pods when they are formed, and when they are ripe--that is, brown
and dry--cut them off, break them open, and spread the seeds out. Look
them over very carefully to see that there are no maggots amongst
them, and if they are at all damp leave them in a warm place until
they are dry. Then make them up in little packets, clearly labeled
with their names, colors, and the date, and put them away in a dry
place until next spring. In saving sunflower seeds choose your best
sunflower, and when the petals have fallen tie it up in muslin, or
else the birds will steal a march on you. In gathering sweet-pea pods
one has to be rather clever, because when they are quite ripe they
burst open and the seeds fly out suddenly, sometimes just as one is
going to cut them. In one poppy pod there are hundreds of seeds,
enough to stock a garden, and the same is the case with the pretty
pods of love-in-a-mist. Nasturtium seeds should be picked up when they
fall on the ground, and spread out until quite brown and dry.
Cornflowers, which have little seeds like shaving-brushes, generally
sow themselves, and marigolds do too, but they are both easy to save.
In choosing a place in which to keep seeds through the winter remember
that damp is not the only danger. Mice enjoy them thoroughly.

Perennials

Perennials are plants which, although they die down in winter, come up
again and blossom every following spring or summer. They can be grown
from seed, but, with a few exceptions, this is a long and troublesome
part of gardening, and it is best to get them from friends or from a
nurseryman.

Planting Perennials

The best months for planting perennials are November, February, and
March. Dig a hole large enough to take the roots when well spread out,
hold your plant in position, with the junction of stem and root just
below the level of the earth, and fill in gently with fine soil,
pressing it down firmly all round the plant, and if there is danger of
frost protect the plants with straw, bracken, or a mulching of manure.
Never water if there is any likelihood of frost.

Here follow some general remarks concerning the treatment of
perennials through the spring, summer, and autumn:--

Slugs

In the spring, slugs, which eat the tender new leaves of many