The Columbus journal., 1906-05-02

Having Tap Roots, Thy Do Hot Bar
TfansplantinglThs Beauty az
Various Varieties.

Inc 4IOr1O00 and gaudy army OF
poppies make q brave marshalliAx un-
der q midsummer sun. There u NO
floral sight more brilliant in color
than . garden Of poppies in full bloom.
The petals are SO thin and delicate NO
insect can alight ON them. and the
transitOry nature Of the bloom has
caused the flower to be used by the
poets to point the brief endurance
of the joys Of the senses. But like
joy, they're worth having even If they
don't last long. and NO garden Is COM
plete without them.
PcppieS have tap-rOOts and seeds
must be sowed where the plants are
to bloom. And they will bloom any
where. Any place which would Ortii-
narily be occupied by woods may be
safely given over to poppies. There
are many kinds-the Shirley, Iceland.
Alpine. Oriental. CalifOrnia-and they
are all good: they are double. single.
fringed. tall and short. annual and
perennial. and they're all worth while.
Shirley poppies are perhaps the ia
vOrite. They are SO daintily. delicate
ly beautiful as to merit the term
sometimes applied to them. fairy
flowers" The Iceland poppies are
rather more robust: they are classed
as perennial. but like hollyhocks. the
seed should be sowed every second
year. In this species are TO be had
the most splendid yellow flowers Of the
poppy family-if we excep: the Esch-
schOltzia, which does not actually be
long to the same genus as the COM
mon poppy. Iceland pOppies will bloom
the first season from seed il started
In the hOtbed or house: the cOiOrS are
white. yellow and orange.
To my mind the single poppies are
far more beautiful than the double
varieties. though many admire the
big. peOny-lavOred kinds. some OF
which have their petals cut and
fringed in a fantastic fashion. They
are certainly very snowy in the gar
den. as they stand fully three feet
high. and give large. imposing flow
ers. often five or six inches across.
produced in early summer
The eschscholtzia, or California pop
py. loves the sun and stands heat
like little salamander. Ii, too. should
be sown where it Is to flower Ii
blooms freely and keeps it up all
summer. All the poppiss bloom more
continuously II cut freely. They are
not generally much esteemed as cut
flowers, but il cut early in the morn
ing, just as they are about to unfold
they will open and last several days
and new buds will soon replace those
cut. The Iceland pOppies are most
esteemed for this purpose. and will last
in favOrins conditions for four on
i've days.
Poppy seed Is very fine and dimcult
to SOW thinly enough in consequence.
A good plan is to mix the contents
of a packet of seed with a teacupful
of sand and scatter 1t on soil that has
been raked mellow and fine. then press
1t In with a board. Sow as soon az
the ground Is fit. When the seed
lings appear thin them SO they will
stand about a foot apart. II pOppies
are crowded they will throw up q
few slender stems bearing few BOw-
ers: given room. they branch freely
and produce more flowers and for q
longer time. 1t has been said that
poppy seed sOwed in August gives
richer-c0lored flowers than that sOved
in the spring.-Michigan Farm and
Live Stock.