GARDENING 147 



advantage of loosening the soil and making it more 

 porous . Why is this an advantage? Many helpful 

 bacteria which are found in barnyard manure also are 

 added to the soil. If barnyard manure cannot be easily 

 obtained a small amount of commercial fertilizer may be 

 used. 



You should always sow your garden seeds in rows. 

 Straight rows make a garden appear neat. You can 

 obtain a straight line by means of a tight string. Push 

 a stick into the ground where you want to begin a row 

 and tie a string to it. Go to the other end of the row, 

 drive a stick and tie the other end of the string to it. 

 Where did you use a tight string before? Rows should 

 be about the same distance apart throughout their en- 

 tire length. This can be accomplished by placing the 

 two sticks at the two ends of the second row the same 

 distance from where they were for the first row. How 

 deep are you going to plant your seeds? After planting, 

 the soil should be pressed gently down so as to fit closely 

 around the seeds. This gives them the best chance of 

 obtaining water and plant-food from the soil. 



The care of the garden is chiefly to keep it moist, but 

 not too wet, to remove the weeds, and to keep the upper 

 part of the soil loose. Can you give the reason for each 

 of these necessities? When the plants come up they 

 should be thinned, that is, part of them should be re- 

 moved if they are too close togther. Each plant must 

 have room in which to grow and each one must have 

 plenty of sun. Thinning may have to be. done several 

 times as the plants grow. \Vhile the sunlight is neces- 

 sary, some plants, especially lettuce, may require to be 

 shaded by boards, placed along the south side of the row, 



