■Rural School Leaflet. 1027 



soil or a mulch of either grass or straw will hold the moisture in the soil 

 and lessen the need of water. 



4. Soils. — It is not often that a heavy clay soil will be found. If 

 no other soil is obtainable, drainage, sand, muck, grass, or coal ashes 

 will be beneficial. Clay soil should never be worked when wet. Gravelly 

 loam, sandy loam or even clay loam are easily worked, and are the soils 

 generally foimd to give good results. 



5. Starting plants. — The seeds of all but the ranker growing plants 

 may be started in the house through March or i\.pril, using shallow boxes 

 filled with light soil. A little care is needed not to sow the seeds too 

 early, for if the window conditions are such that the plants grow spindling, 

 they transplant with difficulty. Six weeks before the time to plant 

 out of doors is early enough to sow the seeds in boxes, and it is then 

 often necessary to transplant into other boxes before the ground it fit 

 to receive the seedlings. For the first year it would be well to have 

 the children grow some one thing in-doors, in order to give them a lesson 

 in transplanting. Tomato plants would be good for the first lesson. If 

 flowers are desired, Pansies might be started in boxes. 



List of garden vegetables, seed 01 which may be sown as soon as the 

 ground is fit to work in the spring: 



Variety Time of Sowing Depth of Sowing Soil Best 



Asparagus April i inch Light Loam 



Beets " 2 



Carrots " i 



Chicory " i 



Cress " i 



Endive " I 



Kale " I 



Kohlrabi " i 



Leek " I 



Lettuce " i 



Mustard " i 



Onion " I 



Parsley " J 



Parsnips " i 



Peas " 2h " 



Radish " i " « 



Rutabaga " i " « 



Salsify " I 



Sea Kale " i " « 



Spinach " ..i " « - 



Turnip « I « « 



