them.

GENERAL CULTURE OF THE ASTER

I would like to say that a six-year old child can raise good Asters, and
that they will grow in any kind of ground from a clay bank to a sand
pit, or stand any kind of treatment. I can't truthfully say those
things, however, for my Lady Aster is a fastidious dame. She wants
plenty to eat and plenty to drink, and requires her insect foes kept at
bay. Those who are not willing to do this had better let her alone.
James Vick, that good old seedsman now gone to his reward, was an Aster
enthusiast. His experience concisely summed up amounts to this:

_Never let them flag from seed-leaf to time of full bloom. Give
deep, rich ground, plenty of sunshine, and mulch with coarse
manure. Stake the tall varieties so as to prevent their blowing
over._

That's a good rule for those who want everything in a nutshell. It may
be summed up in another way. The way to have fine Asters is to do these
six things: (1) Get the best seed; (2) start in a seasonable time; (3)
give rich, mellow ground; (4) never allow them to parch; (5) keep
insects down; and (6) stake when necessary.

[Sidenote: About Seed]

There are many kinds of seed that may be home grown year after year and
the strain suffer no deterioration. Aster seed is not one of these
kinds. If they were given high culture so as to bloom their best, and
only a few of the very choicest individual flowers allowed to seed, they
would of course come true from seed year after year. The trouble is
that home saving is generally from all the flowers as they run, culls,
off-colored specimens and all. Our best Asters represent very high
breeding indeed. It is well known that highly bred plants quickly run
out unless kept at the same high standard. Therefore never trust to
haphazard seed if you desire first class Asters. Do not depend either
upon cheap seed. Choose a reliable seed house, one that takes a pride in
keeping the choicest strains of all the leading flowers and has too much
regard for its reputation to send out inferior seeds under some
high-sounding title.

[Illustration: DWARF BOUQUET ASTER]

[Sidenote: Time to Start Asters]

A great many people start Aster seed in the house or greenhouse as early
as February. There is not only nothing gained by this--for the Aster is
a late flower and does not come to its best estate before August, start
it when you will--but an actual disadvantage. Like James Vick, I would
emphas