The Year in the Crystal Garden 167 



Make up flats and boxes and buy seed pans so 

 as to have everything in readiness for sowing. 

 There will be more seeds to sow during the next 

 few weeks than at any other time in the year. 



Testing old seeds. This may be done readily 

 by counting out a score or a hundred seeds, and 

 planting in the ordinary way. Then keep track 

 of the percentage which grow. This test may 

 save you many disappointments with flowers 

 and vegetables to be sown outdoors later. Fore- 

 warned is forearmed! 



Vegetables for forcing. If you have only a 

 one-temperature house, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, 

 and Melons to be grown inside later should be 

 planted this month or next. If you have both 

 a high and a low temperature house, successive 

 planting of the various vegetables can be made 

 now, to keep up the supply. 



Bring in fruits in pots or tubs for extra early 

 use. Also Strawberries. Unless you have a 

 regular fruit house, however, most of these 

 should not be started until a little later. 



Start seeds for plants for next Thanksgiving 

 and Christmas. Ardisia, Solanum, Abutilons, 

 Fuchsias, Grevilla robusta, and similar things 

 requiring the greater part of a year to mature, 

 should be started now for growing through the 

 summer. 



