^88 RiKAL School Leaflet. 



remain loose and sweet. Mulch is also valuable on light, sandy soil 

 where evaporation is rapid. Plants demand moisture around the roots, 

 but do not thrive with their roots standing in water; and where a 

 mulch is used there is a constant supply of moisture rising through 

 the soil which will be held near the surface by the mulch. 



The material that can be used as a mulch may be anything supplying 

 shade, and lying close to the ground: short grass, straw, hay, coarse 

 manure, leaves, and old boards. Stirring the surface of the soil with a 

 hoe or rake will produce a "dust mulch" that will be of benefit; in fact, 

 in large gardens and with farm crops the cultivation of the surface soil 

 is the only method of furnishing a mulch that can be used. 



II. THINNING AND TRANSPLANTING 



By C. E. Hunn 



To have a -good garden each plant should have room for its fullest 

 development, and since most of the seeds of garden flowers and vegeta- 

 bles are small, it is almost impossible to sow the seeds sparsely enough 

 so that each plant will thrive and grow to perfection. Since this is the 

 case, the plants must be "thinned," and either thrown away or trans- 

 planted to some other part of the garden. If the thinning is done in 

 cool, cloudy weather, the seedlings may be transplanted with great ease, 

 but if done in dry, sunny weather, the seedlings must be shaded after 

 being set out. It is best to thin the plants when they arc small, before 

 they have become crowded, but if one wishes to save them for trans- 

 planting, they may be left until large enough to handle. The following 

 will be found helpful to young gardeners in thinning and transplanting: 



I. Flowering plants that should be four inches apart: Alyssum, 

 ageratum, balsam, candytuft, lobelia, pansy, poppy, portulaca. 



II. Flowering plants that should be from six to eight inches apart: 

 Amaranthus, browallia, carnations, centaurea, dianthus, eschscholtzia, 

 gaillardia, mignonette, myosotis, phlox D. 



III. Flowering plants that should be twelve inches apart: Aquilegia, 

 asters, campanula, calliopsis, colosia, helichrysum, heliotrope, larkspur, 

 marigold, nasturtium, "drop", nigella, petunia, salpiglossis, scabiosa, 

 verbena, zinnia, sweet william. 



IV. Flowering plants that should be from eighteen to twenty-four inches 

 apart: Canna, chrysanthemum (annual), cosmos, dahlia, delphinium, 

 digitalis, gypsophila, nicotiana, phlox (hardy), salvia, rudbeckia, schi- 

 zanthus, tritoma. 



