31 



rake) before the plants are up. The rows ought to be four or 

 five inches further apart than the width of a narrow rake. 



3. How to tvater the plants. — I wonder if you have a water- 

 ing-pot ? If you have, put it where you cannot find it, for we 

 are going to water this garden with a rake ! We want you to 

 learn, in this little garden, the first great lesson in farming, — 

 how to save the water in the soil. If you learn that much this 

 summer, you will know more than many old farmers do. You 

 know that the soil is moist in the Spring when you plant the 

 seeds. Where does this moisture go to ? It dries up, — goes 

 off into the air. If we could cover up the soil with something, 

 we should prevent the moisture from drying up. Let us cover 

 it with a layer of loose, dry earth ! We will make this covering 

 by raking the bed every few days, — once every week anyway, 

 and oftener than that if the top of the soil becomes hard and 

 crusty, as it does after a rain. Instead of pouring water on the 

 bed, therefore, we will keep the moisture in the bed. 



If, however, the soil becomes so dry in spite of you that the 

 plants do not thrive, then water the bed. Do not sprinkle it, 

 but water it. Wet it clear through at evening. Then in the 

 morning, when the surface begins to get dry, begin the raking 

 again to keep the water from getting away. Sprinkling the 

 plants every day or two is one of the surest ways to spoil them. 



4. Wheti and how to sow. — The sweet peas should be put in 

 just as soon as the ground can be dug, even before frosts 

 are passed. Yet, good results can be had if the seeds are put 

 in as late as the loth of May. In the sweet pea garden at Cor- 

 nell last year, we sowed the seeds on the 20th of April. This 

 was about right. The year before, we sowed them on the 30th. 

 If sown very early, they are likely to bloom better, but they 

 may be gone before the middle of September. The blooming 

 can be much prolonged if the flowers are cut as soon as they 

 begin to fade. 



Plant sweet peas deep, — two to three or sometimes even four 

 inches. When the plants are a few inches high, pull out a part 

 of them so that they will not stand nearer together than six 

 inches in the row. It is a good plan to sow sweet peas in 



