HF, (AXADIAJS" HOliTIGULTUllIST. G2 



CAUSE OF 13.XP FLOWEK SEEDS. 



BY N. IlOaEKTSON, GOVJUVNMKXT GUOUNDS, OTTAWA^ OXT; 



Many are the complaints niade about seedsmen selling bad seeds j 

 I sow hundreds of papers of them every year from different seedsmen 

 and collectors but very rarely find them bad, even with the mosfc 

 minute seeds. There are- two great causes for this failure, and; the 

 directions that I give, if attended to, will obviate the necessity of 

 seedsmen inserting such clauses in their catalogues as tliat they will 

 not be responsible for failures, and will also save them much annoyance. 



In this section (Ottawa) it is time enough to make a hot-bed the 

 last week in March or first of April. Sooner than this for half-hardy 

 annuals is of no advantage, as planting out is not safe before tlie 24tli 

 of May, and should not be done before the first of June. Usually at 

 this time of the year we are free from iiight frost and the cold, bleak; 

 winds of early spring. I shall suppose your hot-bed made of horse 

 manure, heated and well mixed, the fresh with the more rotten, so 

 that your bed will sink evenly, having the box fitted to within six 

 inches of the top (don't leave it like a cellar). In a few days the bed 

 will be warm enough to receive the soil, but if not sufficiently heated 

 a bucket of warm water will greatly facilitate matters. Put the soil 

 close to the sash ; if you have no prepared soil put in the frozen lumps, 

 they will soon thaw out and leave you a nice pliable soil, in fact better 

 than you can get in any other way. Allow the steam to escape by 

 raising the sash. The prevailing method is to dig below the frost for 

 material for the hot-bed, thereby getting poor wet soil, which bakes 

 so hard that it is impossible to remove plants without the destruction 

 of the roots. Always add sand enough to keep the soil open. 



When your soil is warm rake it smooth, leaving it four inches 

 deep. Place on the inclined sash, which should be made very sloping, 

 in order to run off the water easily 9,nd prevent dripping inside. You 

 will probably have more soil than wanted, which it wuuld be well to 

 sift over the entire surface of the bed half an inch deep. Pass a 

 straight piece of board over the surface, drawing it level, leaving the 

 surface uniform and smooth. 



To form the drills, which should be three inches apart, take a lath 

 or some such piece of wood the length of your bed inside ; sharpen 

 a little by taking off the corners. Press the narrow edge into tho 



