272 GARDEN GUIDE 



Everything is so tender and as it seems out of season tastes so good that 

 all the pains of regulating the hotbed are worth while. Lettuce can 

 be matured in such structures and Tomatoes, Egg Plants, Beets, 

 Onions, Muskmelons, and even Com can be started. The space is 

 valuable, so that careful planning is necessary to utilize every bit in the 

 hotbed. (Hotbeds are discussed in a separate chapter.) Many persons 

 will not have hotbeds, but will need to depend upon the windows for 

 their early start. 



Starting Flowers Indoors 



There is always a danger in advising a very early start for sowing 

 seeds indoors for the reason that the plants are apt to become very 

 spindling owing to the diminished hght most of us can supply plants 

 in our houses. For the early Spring sowing we shall need to save the 

 soil in the cellar. It should not be too rich but should be loose, made so 

 by the addition of sand, coal ashes, or leaf mold. It should be in a fine 

 condition. Small, shallow boxes, three inches deep, are best for seed 

 sowing. The bottom should have a number of cracks and should be 

 covered with some coarse drainage material, as broken crockery, sod 

 or stones. The flats should be filled even full, then drills should be 

 made, the depth varying according to the sort of seeds that are to be 

 sown. A depth equal to twice the diameter of the seed is all that is 

 necessary indoors. The reader is referred to the Garden Calendar 

 (page 339) for the proper time to sow each vegetable or flower. The 

 seed may be sown thinly, so that each seedling will have plenty of 

 air and space. When sown, the seed should be covered and the soil 

 firmed by the use of a board. After watering carefully with a fine 

 spray, the box should be covered with glass and a newspaper, 

 and put in a suitable place for growth. Just as soon as the seeds have 

 germinated the shading of paper should be removed so that the plant- 

 lets may get the full light. 



Shrubs and Trees from Seed 



When the fruits of many of the trees and shrubs, as Kegel's Privet, 

 Hawthorns, Rhodotypos, Roses, Rarberries, Roston Ivy, Euonymus, 

 and Viburnums, are thoroughly ripe they should be gathered and so 

 placed that the mass of berries will ferment a little. The pulp of the 

 fruit can then be washed from the seeds. Roxes should then be pro- 

 cured in which a layer of sand is placed; the seeds are sown broadcast 

 and covered by at least an inch of sand. The flats are watered thor- 

 oughly and placed in the basement until February, when they are 

 taken out of doors and allowed to freeze. This is necessary to break 

 their heavy coverings. This process is known as stratification ; the 



