GARDENING BY MYSELF. 27 



SO late, that they need not be sown very 

 early. Except canna, and datura, and a 

 few others of which the catalogue will tell 

 you, that are shy of blooming the first 

 year, and so must be got in as early as pos- 

 sible. 



First of all, then, put your canna seeds in 

 scalding water, and leave them in a hot 

 place (not boiling) for twelve hours or so, 

 while you attend to other matters. 



What soil have you got for planting ? If 

 you made no preparation last fall, you cannot 

 have ''rotted sods," nor some other excel- 

 lent things that need time and care to make 

 them good ; yet if you live in the country, 

 the want can be easily made up. In town, 

 the shortest way is to buy sixpence worth 

 of prepared soil at the nearest greenhouse. 

 In the country, .take basket and trowel and 

 go off to the woods — deciduous woods, not 

 evergreen, if you have the choice — and 

 there pry into the little hollows, among 

 rocks and tree-roots. Scrape off last year's 

 leaves which lie on top, and the leaves of 



