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ashes and soot. Towards the end of March, or in the early part 

 of April, the surface may be raked down, and the soil will probably 

 fall at once into a fine tilth, admirably suited for the small seeds. 

 Stiff clay soil may require special care to get the desired tilth. It 

 will probably be necessary to watch the weather closely, and test 

 the soil frequently with the tools. Our experience with clay soils 

 is that they may be ripe for working down on one day, and 

 then, if the opportunity is lost, may not be in condition again 

 for several weeks. It will help to reduce very obstinate soils if, 

 at the time of the first digging, some old mortar rubbish, or the 

 sweepings from high-roads, are spread on. 



If the Annuals are to be grown in beds to themselves, con- 

 sideration should be devoted to finishing the soil off neatly. Have 

 the sides raised above the surrounding grass, and clear of the 

 verge, so that a neat edge can be kept with the shears. A border 

 of some dwarf plant, such as Thrift, or Pinks, or an Annual like 

 the Sweet Alyssum (of which there is a very compact variegated 

 form grown under the name of Koeniga maritima variegatd), will 

 be an appropriate finish to the bed. 



Coming to the arrangement of the plants in beds, they could 

 either be put in lines or clumps. We greatly favour the latter, 

 because they look more graceful and informal. If, however, the 

 grower prefers to sow in lines, he will find it convenient to get a 

 board about ten inches wide, and use it for getting straight rows. 

 He can form a drill by turning the rake on end, teeth outward, 

 along the edge of the plank, then simply turn the latter over and 

 draw another drill. This is quicker than constantly resetting a 

 garden line. Unless the flower gardener is very expert he should 

 not attempt to draw straight drills of any length by the eye alone. 

 Rows have a way of getting crooked when this is done. 



With respect to clumps, the grower can do one of two things 

 form a shallow saucer by a quick rotary motion with the palm 

 of his hand, or make a circle by pressing the rim of an inverted 



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