SEED SOWING. 



THE usual failure in getting seeds to 

 grow is from sowing them too deep- 

 ly in the earth. If it were possible 

 to keep the seeds dark and moist, they 

 would be all the better from being sown 

 absolutely on the surface. Every one 

 familiar with forest growth must have 

 noticed how forest tree seeds, which 

 simply fall to the earth and are covered 

 by the few leaves or the remains of 

 grasses, germinate without difficulty. In 

 cherry trees, especially, the stones, 

 which have fallen from the tree, lying 

 on the surface all winter, sprout and 

 grow rapidly when spring time comes, 

 and yet cherry seeds from the same tree, 

 collected by the seed sower, sown in the 

 way in which seeds are usually sown, 

 frequently fail to grow. In order to 

 have seeds as near the surface as possible, 

 and yet protected against drying up, the 



great prince of American practical gar- 

 deners, — the late Peter Henderson, — 

 recommended for planting vegetable 

 seeds, that the garden line should first 

 be stretched along in the direction 

 where the vegetables were to grow, 

 sprinkle the seeds along the line entirely 

 on the surface, and then simply tramp 

 them in the ground along the line. In 

 this way no garden seed ever failed to 

 grow if it were good, and garden seeds 

 are generally good, for it has been found 

 that even old seed, if guarded against 

 extreme heat or moisture, will continue 

 to preserve its vital power for a definite 

 period. Still every purchaser desires to 

 get seed as fresh as possible. If the 

 suggestions given are borne in mind, 

 there will be very seldom complaints 

 about the failure of garden seeds to 

 grow. — Meehans' Monthly. 



Tomato Growing. — A writer in Am- 

 erican Gardening says : — Much of the 

 success with the Tomato plants depends 

 upon their not getting stunted in the hot- 

 bed or greenhouse before transplanting. 

 Too low a temperature, too scanty supply 

 of water or getting rootbound may do 

 this. If this happens the plants are later 

 in coming to bearing, and also there is a 

 considerable difference in the total yield. 

 Too high a temperature is not as bad 

 unless it scorches the leaves badly, but 

 it makes the plants long legged and 

 liable to be broken down by the wind or 

 by their weight of fruit. If the plants 

 cannot be set into the open ground be- 

 fore they begin to get rootbound take up 

 a part of them and put them in boxes 

 down cellar, where they will keep a week 



or more very well, and that will give 

 room for the others to grow. 



Winter Care of Bulbs. — Where 

 cannas, dahlias, gladioli and other 

 summer flowering bulbs are stored in 

 ordinary cellars they require careful 

 examination from time to time. If the 

 storage place is dry and warm the bulbs 

 have to be sprinkled with lukewarm 

 water when required to prevent their 

 shriveling ; if it is damp and cool there 

 is danger of their rotting; and in a 

 damp and warm place they are apt to 

 sprout too soon. As in most cellars the 

 temperature varies considerably in vari- 

 ous parts it is generally not difficult to 

 change the bulbs to a more favorable 

 position if so desired. 



