442 



Junior Naturalist jMontiily. 



In a week the tiny shoots will push 

 up through the sand, and in two weeks 

 more she may thin the plants to about 

 an inch apart. 



While she was about it, Little Pep- 

 perpod made three berry-box gardens. 

 In the first she sowed peppergrass. 

 But spring is close at hand and she 

 means to have an outdoor garden. 



Beneath the kitchen window she 

 wants some nasturtiums and " scarlet 

 runner " beans. Also she wants some 

 tomato plants, started early, for trans- 

 planting to the outdoor bed as soon as 

 the weather becomes warm enough for 

 the needs of the warmth loving tomato. 



She sows these seeds a little deeper 

 than she did the peppergrass, and far- 

 ther apart, for they are bigger seeds of 

 bigger plants, and need more room. 

 For the nasturtium, she first jarred the 

 berry-box to settle the soil grains well 

 together, and then poked her forefinger 

 into it up to the first joint, and drop- 

 ped a nasturtium seed into the hole 

 thus made. She put them an inch 

 apart, which made four rows of four 

 holes each. Then she covered the seed 

 and pressed the soil closely upon it. 



When she transplants her nastur- 

 tiums, she will not ])ull up the plants, 

 but break or cut the berry-box care- 

 fully away from ihc block of soil within 

 it, and gently separate the roots, allow- 

 ing each plant to keep its tiny clod of 

 earth. By doing so, the fuzzy working 

 roots receive the least injury, and con- 

 tinue their work of gathering food for 

 ihc starch factories in the green leaves 

 with scarcely any interruption, 



