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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



for each kind of seed, which ensures planting being done 

 at the right depth. 



There is also an adjustment for planting in hills, which 

 only adds to the value of this modern implement for 

 amateurs with limited time to devote to the garden. 



Seed sowing by hand is an art, mastered only by 

 actual and repeated practice. The even distribution of 

 seeds, in sufficient quantity, so that the row is full and 

 regular, leaving no blank spaces and reducing thinning 

 out to a minimum, should be the aim in all seeding opera- 

 tions. Use enough seed to ensure a good stand, but 

 don't be extravagant. 



When seeds are sown too thick the plants are drawn 

 and weakly from lack of room to develop properly. 

 Large seeds such as peas are sown broadcast in the drill, 

 using a gentle sweeping motion. Beans are sown by 

 dropping the seeds from the hand at intervals of 3-4 

 inches. A good practice with beans is to plant in double 

 drills, which is simply a single row along each side of 

 a wide drill. Lettuce, radish, onions, turnips, kohl-rabi, 

 carrots, beets, spinach, etc., may be planted by holding 

 the package in the hand, and controlling the amount of 

 seed dropped by the thumb and fore-finger. 



This type of seed may be sown as fast as one can walk 

 in the stooping position necessary when doing this work. 

 The closer one can get down to the drill with the hand 

 the less likelihood will there be of the wind blowing 

 the seed away. Always label each row after sowing, 

 marking down the date, and another year you can use the 

 label for reference when planning the garden. 



In planting don't make the mistake of assuming that 

 because you have included early, intermediate, and late 

 varieties of vegetables in your list that these will give an 

 uninterrupted supply throughout the Summer. In order 

 to have vegetables in prime condition at all times fre- 

 quent sowings are necessary of many types. \'egetables 

 that may be had from one sowing include Lima beans, 

 Swiss chard, egg plants, peppers, tomatoes, parsnijis, 

 squash, onions, muskmelons, parsley, leeks, New Zealand 

 spinach, cardoon, oyster plant, potatoes, artichokes, ruta- 

 bagas, cabbage, cauliflower, and celery, are sown in early 

 Spring for Summer use, and again in Summer for Win- 

 ter use. As soon as the frost is out of the ground, and 

 weather permits, lawns should be raked, and any un- 

 even spots leveled tip and reseeded. Mulches round trees, 

 shrubs, roses, and on the herbaceous and bulb beds should 

 be removed. In many cases where manttre is used for 

 nuilching it may be well dug into the ground, but the 

 greater part of the fertilizing elements have long since 

 passed into the soil with the melting snows. 



Any new planting or re-arrangement of herbaceous 

 plants should be proceeded with as weather and oppor- 

 tunity permit. The sooner this work is completed the 

 better chance will the plants have of becoming estab- 

 lished before the hot weather overtakes them. 



In the flower garden the first thing to plant should be 

 the sweet peas. Mark off the ground two feet wide 

 and the length of the plot, and double dig this, i. e., dig 

 two spades deep, and put in plenty of well rotted manure, 

 and after it has settled a day or so plant the seeds very 

 sparsely so there will be no overcrowding later. It will 

 hasten the g-ermination of the seeds considerably if they 

 are soaked in water for 48 hours previous to planting. 

 As the ground gets dried out and warmed up, hardier 

 varieties of flower seeds may be sown, as Asters, Mari- 

 golds, Nasturtiums, Centaurea, Candytuft, etc. These 

 may be sown where they are to flower, but nuich earlier 

 and better results are to be obtained by planting in a 

 .specially ])re])ared seed bed in a cold frame or mild hot- 

 bed. 



The Greenhouse 



All is activity in this department. Seedlings of all 

 kinds are coming along, and need more room and prick- 

 ing off, so as to have a chance to develop into stocky 

 plants for bedding out. Many of the Winter tlowering 

 plants are past their best, and they may as soon as prac- 

 ticable be thrown out, and preparations made for replac- 

 ing them. Young carnation plants that are to be given 

 outdoor culture before going into permanent flowering 

 quarters may well be accommodated in a cold frame to 

 harden off for some time previous to planting out. Gera- 

 niums and other bedding plants with the longer days 

 and increased sun heat are taking on renewed vigor, and 

 will need more space. 



As good a place as any for many bedding plants, and 

 especially geraniums, at this time is a mild hotbed. The 

 bottom heat, moisture, and being close to the glass seem 

 to suit these plants better than the hot dry greenhouse 

 bench. Even with the most careful watering, on bright 

 warm days, the pots if at all exposed on the bench (as 

 they will surely be if they have enough room to grow 

 properly) will dry out and the soil become heated, a 

 condition that does not encourage growth much. A little 

 later in the month it will not even be necessary to make 

 u]) an hotbed. With a little banking round the frames, 

 and careful manipulation of the sashes in the afternoons 

 so as to run up a good sun heat, it is possible to main- 

 tain a fair temperature overnight even if the mercury 

 does get dangerously near the freezing point. Careful 

 watering and ventilation at the proper time are about all 

 they will need in the way of attention. 



W'ith the warmer weather here to stay, it is advisable 

 to leave a crack of air on the rose house overnight, and 

 especially so on the modern type of houses which are 

 almost air tight. It may be necessary at times to carry 

 a little fire heat to keep the temperature where it ought 

 to be, but there is little excuse for letting any of the 

 fires out with the first few bright days. Bank the fire 

 on bright mornings, but by all means run a little heat 

 around at night. A cold raw night is bound to be expe- 

 rienced occasionailv, and mildew once established will 

 take more effort to oust it than the attention necessary to 

 keep the fires going. ^Moreover rain, wind and fog not 

 infrequently experienced during April is not conducive 

 to the welfare of the young plants that are to replace 

 the older ones, without a little fire heat to maintain a 

 genial atmosphere. 



Syringing should be attended to now that the plants 

 will dry off quickly. With hard firing the greater part 

 of the Winter and none too many opportunities for 

 .syringing, red spider will have found a haven somewhere, 

 and he must be dislodged or the |)Iants will suffer, par- 

 ticularly the young ones. 



Those who failed to get the sod heaps together last 

 Fall should lose no time getting this work under way, 

 when outdoor conditions permit. Palms and ferns will 

 need to be shaded now. The direct rays of the sun each 

 day more powerful will soon cause permanent disfigure- 

 ment in the form of burnt leaves. Any repotting or 

 topdressing of these subjects should be pushed ahead 

 with all possible speed. Established plants will be bene- 

 fitted by bi-weekly applications of liquid manure and 

 soot water. 



Specimen plants of Hydrangeas, that have been stored 

 away should be brought out and given a top dressing, 

 removing as much of the old soil and dead wood cut 

 out as possible, retubbed if necessary. The same thing 

 applies to Bay trees as far as topdressing or retubbing 

 is concerned. 



