286 LUTHER BURBANK 



In filling the boxes, coarse gravel, such as will 

 just pass through a half -inch mesh, or a little 

 smaller, is placed one-quarter to one-half inch 

 deep over the bottom of the box. This insures 

 perfect drainage and sufficient aeration, both of 

 which are of the utmost importance. The box is 

 then filled, to within about an inch of the top, 

 with the sand or special soil. Make the filling a 

 little shallower for fall planting, when we expect 

 much cool, damp weather, and slow growth, to 

 prevent drowning or "damping off" of the seed- 

 lings during the winter; a little deeper for spring 

 planting, to prevent too sudden drying out, and 

 otherwise to regulate the amount of moisture. 



This may seem like a matter of small conse- 

 quence, but such details often determine success 

 or failure. 



THE SEEDLING KINDERGARTEN 



All ordinary seeds are sown quite thickly in 

 the boxes and covered lightly with the same soil, 

 according to the size of the seed just a dusting 

 of soil for the finest of seeds, and an eighth to a 

 quarter of an inch for the larger ones. 



In testing new varieties, ten or twenty dif- 

 ferent kinds of seeds may be planted in sections 

 in one box, each marked with a small wooden 

 label, tacked on the upper edge of the box with 



