150 GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 



to twenty-four, or even as much as thirty-six, inches 

 apart, but a closer arrangement will be better. 



The soil for the plants should be not less than fif- 

 teen inches deep and many of the best growers prefer 

 eighteen or twenty. Its composition may vary consid- 

 erably, but a preparation of four parts well-rotted sods, 

 four parts of garden loam and one part of decomposed 

 manure is desirable. In filling the beds with this 

 amount of soil, more than usual care is necessary that it 

 be well pressed down and compacted. If the compost is 

 coarse, a fine seed bed can be obtained by spreading 

 sifted soil over the bed to the depth of an inch. The 

 bed should be sown before it has time to dry out, the 

 usual date being about the first of August, or a little 

 earlier in some cases, in drills fifteen inches apart, cov- 

 ering with sifted soil to the depth of three-eighths of an 

 inch. It is a good plan to scatter sand in the drills in 

 which the seeds are to be sown, and to use the same 

 material for covering them. The bed should now be 

 thoroughly watered, and from this time it should not 

 be allowed to become dry. The use of cloth or lath 

 screens, until the plants have appeared, is desirable, 

 after which they should be removed. The ventilation 

 should be ample, preferably from the ridge, and air 

 should be given at all times, as the plants, at this period 

 of their growth, should be kept cool. Good results can 

 also be obtained in shallow beds, by placing an inch of 

 cow manure in the bottom and filling up with three or 

 four inches of rich but light compost. 



When the true leaves appear, the plants should be 

 thinned so that they will stand at least twelve inches 

 apart in the rows. In about two months the flowers will 

 form, and if large spikes are desired the laterals that 

 form on the leading shoots should be removed. This 

 should also be done with the shoots that appear later on, 

 as fine spikes can only be secured when disbudding is 



