The Busy Woman s Garden Book 



purchase fresh seed or at least sufficient to sup- 

 plement the home supply. It is always worth 

 while to save one's own seed if the vegetables have 

 exceptionally good qualities ; this insures trueness 

 to name and often an improvement over the par- 

 ent stock; it is not, however, desirable where a 

 number of varieties of any vegetable is grown in 

 the same garden as the seed is quite certain to be 

 mixed and the good qualities of the parent stock 

 to be lost. 



In sowing seed in the open ground cultivation 

 should begin as soon as the seed is sown and cov- 

 ered. In the case of large seed which is tramped 

 down in the rows and covered an inch or more it 

 is not always necessary to rake over the rows 

 for a dust-mulch, rarely if it is likely to rain im- 

 mediately. Under this condition the rows will 

 be quite distinct and as soon as the rain is over 

 and the ground slightly dried off the scuffle-hoe 

 may be run along the rows restoring the dust- 

 mulch, or creating one. Where the planting is 

 shallow it is an excellent plan to drop radish 

 seeds at intervals along the row as these will 



42 



