THE VEGETABLE GARDEN 



will not be, in the case of most plants, until all 

 danger of frost is passed. This period varies ac- 

 cording to location; in the vicinity of Detroit and 

 Chicago it may be generally calculated as from 

 April 1st to about May 20th, and throughout the 

 country at large it may be generally accepted as 

 the average " corn-planting time." Such seeds as 

 radishes, beets, onions for transplanting, celery, 

 etc., should be planted as soon as April 1st, and 

 plants of cabbage, lettuce, etc., should be ready 

 to go into the open ground by April 20th. It will 

 then be seen that it is necessary to start the hot- 

 beds early enough to get the plants sufficiently 

 advanced to plant out when the right season has 

 come. 



Seeds of some plants require much less time to 

 germinate than do others, and such seeds may be 

 planted nearer corn-planting time than the others. 

 Generally speaking, about six weeks, or at the 

 most two months, should be allowed for the de- 

 velopment of the plant; so if we accept May 20th 

 as a safe time for this operation, it will be seen that 

 the first of March, and not much earlier, is a good 

 and practical time for getting the hotbed in com- 

 mission. And very satisfactory results may be se- 



[50] 



