By the first of the month finish sowing all hardy Annuals and Biennials;
and about the middle of the month all those that are tropical. The
weather being now warm, they will vegetate in a few days or weeks.
Attend to thinning of those that are too thick, giving gentle waterings
to such as are weak in dry weather. Those that have been protected in
frames should be fully exposed therein night and day; take the first
opportunity of damp cloudy days to have them transplanted into the
borders or beds, after the 10th, lifting them out of the frame with as
much earth as will adhere to their roots.
CARE OF HYACINTHS, TULIPS, &c.
For the treatment of these while in bloom, see last month. The best time
to take them out of the ground is about five weeks after they are done
flowering, or when the stem appears, what may be termed half decayed.
The best method to dry them is to place the roots in rows, with bulb to
bulb, the stems laying north and south, or east or west. Give the bulbs
a very thin covering of earth, merely to exclude the sun, so that they
may not dry too rapidly, being thereby liable to become soft. When they
have thoroughly dried in this situation, which will be in eight or ten
days in dry weather, (and if it rains cover them with boards,) take them
to an airy dry loft or shade, clearing off the fibres or stems, and in
a few weeks put them in close drawers, or cover them with sand perfectly
dry, until the time of planting, for which see October.
It is not advisable to allow any of the bulbs of either Hyacinths or
Tulips to seed, as it retards their ripening, and weakens the root,
except where there are a few desired for new varieties. The small
offsets must be carefully kept in dry sand, or immediately planted.