GARDENING BY MYSELF. 29 



head of a family that will give his strength 

 and time to ''trumpery." And seeds will 

 grow, and grow well, in flower-pots, if only 

 they have the right sort of care. Earthen 

 seed-pans (a kind of broad, shallow flower- 

 pot) are, I thmk, on the whole, about the 

 best thing I ever used, — hght and manage- 

 able, and large enough not to let the earth 

 dry too fast. And there is a great system 

 of indemnity in this world. Soap boxes are 

 good, no doubt, Mr. Henderson ; but if they 

 have to be carried about from window to 

 window and room to room, to catch the 

 sun or follow the fire, then, you see, there 

 is a qualification to their excellence. 



Well, take the best you can get, — then 

 prepare your mould by sifting. And as 

 you and I have not always a nest of riddles 

 at hand, let me tell you that a twenty-five 

 cent wire ladle will do extremely well for 

 the first rough sifting ; w^hile a small wire 

 sieve, for the like extravagant price, will fin- 

 ish up the work in a quite superior manner. 

 Even a cinder sifter can be made to help. 



3* 



