Early sowing should be avoided for two reasons.  The seed germinates but slowly in dull weather, and the seedlings when raised are almost certain to damp off.  We do not advise a start before March, and not until April unless a steady heat of 60 deg. or 65 deg. can be maintained.  Sow in well-drained pots, filled with soil composed of two parts of turfy loam and one part of leaf-soil, with very little sand added.  The seedlings are exceedingly brittle at the outset, and re-potting should not be attempted until they are about an inch high.  Even then they need delicate handling, and after the task is accomplished they should be promptly placed in a warm frame or propagating pit for a few days.  In June or July the plants should reach 48-sized pots, but they must not be transferred to the conservatory without careful hardening, or the whole of the flowers will fall. =I.  Holstii= also succeeds well when bedded out in summer in the same manner as Begonias.

==Jacobea—­=see= senecio==

==Kochia trichophylla==

==Half-hardy annual==

This remarkable variety of =K. scoparia= is a miniature annual shrub, which is also known as Summer Cypress, or Belvidere.  It is singularly attractive, of rapid growth and graceful habit.  In a very brief time the finely cut foliage forms a compact cylindrical plant, beautifully domed at the top, and the tender green changes to a rich russet-crimson in autumn.

Seed may be sown in slight heat during February or March to provide early plants for pots, or for setting out in the open immediately the bedding season commences.  It is important not to crowd the seedlings, and every precaution should be taken to prevent them from becoming thin, leggy, or wanting in symmetry.  Each plant must be allowed sufficient space to develop equally all round.  An April sowing can be made in the open where the plants are intended to remain, and beyond regular thinning they will give very little trouble.

As a conspicuous dot plant in beds this Kochia is extremely useful, or it can be massed in borders, and it also forms an admirable dividing line in the flower garden.  For the decoration of conservatories a number should be specially reserved.  Specimens may be employed with striking effect on flights of steps, in halls, and many other positions where a plant of perfect outline will serve as an ornament.  Height, 2 to 3 feet.

==Larkspur==

==Hardy annual==

The cultivation of the annual Delphiniums, more familiarly known as Larkspurs, is so simple in character that it calls for little comment.  But these handsome subjects are so widely grown, and so greatly appreciated, that they are fully deserving of special mention here.  The taller varieties, of which the Stock-flowered strain is the most popular, are best grown in large beds, borders and shrubberies, and the dwarfer kinds in small beds.  Apart from their usefulness in