them a start in a frame, and shade from direct sunshine.  Phloxes should not be coddled; the best results are always obtained from sturdy plants which have been hardened as far as possible by free access of air from their earliest stage of growth.  This does not imply that they are to be rudely transferred from protection to the open air.  The change can easily be managed gradually until some genial evening makes it perfectly safe to expose them fully.  A space of about two feet each way is required for each plant of the large-flowered class, but a more modest allowance of nine or twelve inches will suffice for the dwarf varieties.  Before they are put out the plants must be free from aphis; if not, fumigation should be resorted to once or twice until there is a clearance of the pest.  Seed of the annual Phlox may also be sown in the open ground during the latter part of May, and the plants will flower abundantly from mid-August until frost destroys them.

The employment of Phlox as pot plants has already been alluded to, but special mention must be made of Purity, which is by far the most valuable of all the varieties for blooming indoors.  The pure white flowers, which are sweetly scented, may be produced at almost any period of the year.  They are, perhaps, more highly appreciated at Easter than at any other time, and to insure a display at that season seed should be sown in September or October.  The plants will do well if grown on in a cold frame, the final shift being into pots of the 48-size.  When grown under glass, Phlox should be given treatment as nearly hardy as possible, all that is necessary in regulating temperature being the exclusion of frost from the greenhouse or frame.

==Phlox, perennial==

==Hardy perennial==

The seed of perennial Phlox is very slow and erratic in germinating, and from a sowing made in September the seedlings may not appear until the following spring.  Seed may also be sown in the first week of March in shallow boxes, and put into moderate heat.  In due time prick out into boxes filled with light rich soil, and having hardened them in the usual way, plant out a foot apart in a good bed, and help, if needful, with an occasional watering.

==Picotee==

==Dianthus Caryophyllus fl. pi.  Hardy perennial==

Seedling Picotees are extremely robust and free-flowering, and seed saved from the best types will produce handsome specimens.  The instructions for growing Carnation—­sowing in pans from April to August and transplanting when large enough—­are equally applicable to the Picotee.

==Pink==

==Dianthus plumarius.  Hardy perennial==

This old English flower is valued in every garden.  Both the double and single varieties are easily raised from seed and the plants bloom with the greatest freedom.  Seed may be sown any time from April to August.  Treat the seedlings in the manner advised for Carnations, and in due course transfer to open quarters.  The foliage maintains its colour during the severest winter, and is therefore worth consideration for furnishing the border, to say nothing of the abundant display of perfumed flowers which the plants afford in early summer.