230 THE GARDEN OF A 



telligent handling. If too deeply covered, they will 

 mould ; if too lightly, they will be washed out by 

 the slightest lack of judgment in sprinkling, and the 

 cry of the discouraged, " My seeds did not come up," 

 is the result. 



The "general useful" may be exemplary, and in 

 all other respects "know a hawk from a handsaw," 

 but he cannot tend seeds in a hotbed. In his anx- 

 iety lest they be thirsty or chilled, he waters too 

 much and hesitates to ventilate properly on pleasant 

 days. The result is that the seedlings either spindle 

 or suddenly disappear altogether, through the rav- 

 ages of mould. In short, hotbed responsibility is 

 not to be transferred. 



I must wear gloves in my gardening work, else I 

 may have knobs on my joints at forty. I allowed 

 myself the luxury of touching the soil to-day, for 

 my fingers are like the antennae of an insect, and 

 receive many a thrill of pleasure that would be insu- 

 lated by gloves. Then, too, I seem to breathe partly 

 through my finger-tips. 



I think it better to start all flower seeds in the hot- 

 bed except half a dozen kinds that are grown en 

 masse, like sweet peas, nasturtiums, mignonette, nico- 

 tiana, bluets, convolvulus, or the untransplantable 

 sweet sultans and annual poppies. It is so much 



