GARDEN MAKING AND SEED SOWING 213 



slight covering, and in no way can it be put on as 

 evenly as by sifting. 



After having scattered the seed on the bed, and 

 sifted the soil over it, take your board and press 

 lightly to firm the covering down, and make it able 

 to retain moisture longer than it will if left in the 

 condition it is in when just fallen from the sieve. 



If the weather should prove to be dry, it may be 

 necessary to sprinkle the beds once a day. Do this 

 at night or early in the morning. Be sure not to let 

 the soil get dry on the surface before your plants 

 have come up. They must have moisture at this stage 

 of their existence, or, rather, their attempt to begin 

 an existence. 



As soon as the plants appear, begin to pull up 

 such weeds as will be sure to come along with them. 

 A flowering plant and a weed are always at enmity 

 with each other. It is a struggle between them from 

 the beginning for the possession of the bed, and in 

 ninety-nine cases out of one hundred the weed will 

 get possession. There can be no compromise if you 

 would have good flowers. Keep the weeds down or 

 let them have their way. Most flowering plants are 

 rather delicate at first, and it takes them some time 

 to get strength enough to make a robust growth, while 

 weeds go ahead vigorously from the start, and if 

 you allow them to remain they will soon rob the 

 others of the nourishment they ought to receive from 

 the soil, and so spread their roots about that it will 

 be difficult to pull them up later, without pulling up 

 the plants you want to remain in the beds. Therefore, 

 begin weeding your beds just as soon as you are able 

 to tell the difference between weed and flower. And 

 be sure to keep your beds clean all through the season. 

 Nothing looks worse to the lover of flowers than a 

 bed in which weeds and flowers grow together. In 



