204 



How to Make a Flower Garden 



Great care should be taken in watering. If too wet, the plants 

 "damp off." or get weak and spindling; if too dry, they are likely to be lost 

 altogether. Ventilation is a most important point; an hour's neglect may 



A market i;ardene 



destroy the crop of seedlings. When the sun is shining, the temperature 

 may be allowed to rise to 70 or 80 degrees; at other times, from 55 to 60 

 degrees is a proper temperature. 



Covering with mats and shutters is highly essential. If a cold night 

 is coming, close up the frame early to store the heat, and put the covering 

 on about an hour before sunset. Take it off in the morning from an hour to 

 two hours after sunrise during cold weather. The sides and ends above- 

 ground should be banked up with earth and six inches of manure to keep 

 out cold in severe weather. 



Of course, the young seedlings must be transplanted in the hotbed, and 

 the cultivator must provide room enough for that purpose. A sash will 

 cover fifty lettuce plants transplanted for forcing; it will cover 500 trans- 

 planted from the seed-bed. The latter number may be taken as a fair average 

 for the general run of plants which a sash will cover after transplanting is 

 accomplished. As sown in the seed-bed, before thinning or transplanting, 

 a sash will cover about 5,000 seedlings. A sash will cover 500 radishes 

 thinned out to grow to maturity. 



In transplanting, be careful to do the work quickly and thoroughly, 

 firming the plant well with the planting-stick. Do not allow the plants to be 

 out of the ground a minute longer than is necessary. Water them well 



