130 EVERY WOMAN HER OWN FLOWER GARDENER. 



weeds must not be allowed to grow, and on a sunny day when the sashes 

 can be removed, pull them all up. 



The Gardener's Monthly recommends the following plan for a minia- 

 ture hot-bed, for raising slips in the summer time : " Get two or three 

 boxes, eighteen inches long and ten or twelve inches wide, with a pane 

 of glass to cover one exactly; have a hole dug deep enough, in a sunny 

 location, to place the boxes in on a level with the ground, first taking 

 off the bottoms of the boxes, and fitting one closely on to the other ; 

 fill up the first with fresh stable manure ; in the second, place three or 

 four inches of earth, allowing space enough between the earth and the 

 top of the box to set in the pots and leave three or four inches of space 

 above it ; pour in a bucket of warm water, and set on the glass ; let it 

 ferment two or three days, then fill the flower pots with yellow or silver 

 sand, and plant your cuttings; whitewash, or smear with whitening and 

 water, the under side of the glass; set in the pots, and cover with the 

 glass." 



Of course, some of the slips will die, and they will need to be watered 

 daily and aired. I intend to try the process this season in raising plants 

 for window gardening. 



A dry-goods box will make a good small hot-bed. Saw off the side 

 boards and the front one, so that the sash will slide in obliquely ; put 

 cleats on all sides to support the sash; sink two feet into the ground; 

 fill up with fermenting manure and good sandy soil, and you will find 

 it large enough to raise tomatoes and peppers, with a large supply of 

 flower seeds and cuttings. An old window sash can do duty for the 

 glass. A little ingenuity will help one greatly in making hot-beds out 

 of little material. A good kitchen garden is a capital investment for 

 every family. It requires labor and some brains to run it but children 

 will often supply the former, and the housewife must not lack the latter. 

 It should not be left entirely to the mercies of Sambo or Patrick, unless 

 they have been well trained in its culture. As I have said before, do 

 not expect that women can do the hard work of a garden but they 

 can plant the seed, and pull the weeds if they will not let them get 

 the start early in the season. " One year's weeding makes seven years' 

 seeding," is an old but trite proverb. Hoe up the weeds when only 

 three or four leaves at the most are visible, and the hot sun will kill 

 them off. 



