32 MY GARDEN 



doors, the preparation of the soil and the treatment of 

 the seeds is in the main identical. The prepared soil for 

 the seed bed need not be deeper than five inches, and a 

 good composition is two parts good garden soil, one part 

 leaf -mold, and one part coarse sand, with a good sprink- 

 ling of wood ashes. This should be chopped and raked 

 smooth, and upon the top should be spread an inch of 

 good soil, or leaf -mold and fine sand, in equal parts, put 

 through a moderately fine sieve. We use the frames 

 almost entirely for raising seeds, it is so much safer than 

 the open ground, and we find infant mortality greatly 

 lessened if manure, either fresh or old, is not used, 

 as it frequently harbours insects, or their eggs, which 

 ravenously feed upon the tender seedlings. That 

 they may be easily weeded and otherwise cared for, 

 seeds are best sown in straight rows five or six inches 

 apart, and not scattered broadcast, and each row should 

 have at its head a wooden label, bearing the name of the 

 plant and the date of sowing written with an indelible 

 pencil. 



Large seeds such as those of Lupines, Iris, or Lathyrus, 

 may be soaked in warm water for a few hours before 

 planting, and sown in drills a half inch deep. For seeds 

 of medium size, Delphiniums, Pinks, or Geums, we pre- 

 pare a place by pressing a lath (cut to fit the width of 

 the frame or bed) firmly into the soil, and sow the seed 

 upon this flat surface, covering it to about twice its own 

 depth with sandy soil. Seeds of the light and feathery 



