CORNELL 



R\iral School Leaflet 



FOR THE CHILDREN 



Published monthly by the New York State College of Agriculture at CorneU University, from 

 September to May and entered as second-class matter September 30, 1907, at the Post OflBce 

 at Ithaca, New York, under the Act of Congress of July 16, 1894. L. H. Bailey Director 



ALICE G. McCLOSKEY, Editor 

 Professors G. F. WARREN and CHARLES H. TUCK, Advisers 



V(l. I. 



ITHACA, N. Y., MARCH, 190S. 



No. 7 



GARDEN NOTES 



By C. E. HuNN 



''Here are Sweet Peas, on tiptoe for a flight, 

 With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white, 

 And taper Angers catching at all things 

 To bind them all about with tiny wings." — Keats. 



All our boys and girls should have gardens this 

 year. In the next issue of the Leafllet we shall make 

 suggestions for these gardens, and I believe everyone 

 will want to grow something. 



But before our first real garden lesson, we may be 

 able to plant sweet peas ; and, since no garden is com- 

 plete without these attractive blossoms, we must be 

 sure to sow the seeds on time. The following direc- 

 tions will help you : 



1. Sweet peas should be sown as early in the spring 

 as the ground can be worked. They often do well, 

 however, if sown as late as the tenth of Alay. 



2. In licavy, z^'ct, cold soil, the earth should be 

 removed to a depth of from ten to twelve inches, 

 lull this trench within five inches of the surface with 



This should be mixed with wood ashes at the rate 

 of one quart to two bushels of soil, or with well-rotted barnyard manure, 

 in a proportion of one peck to two bushels of soil. Firm this down 

 by treading, and sow the seeds thickly. Fill the trench even with the 

 surface, or place two or three inches of soil over the seeds, filling in 

 with soil as the young plants grow. 



3. In light soils, the upper five inches may be removed, the ashes or 

 the manure worked into the bottom of the trench and the seeds sown. 



4. The roots of sweet peas should be kept cool. Through the hot 

 summer months, spread coarse manure, short grass, or straw along the 

 rows to hold the soil cool and retain moisture. 



747 



light, garden soil. 



