AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



probably, than from any other. A good gen- 

 eral rule is to plant a seed no deeper than 

 three times its diameter, and in following this 

 rule, you will find that the lightest touch of 

 the finger upon the soil in making the drill is 

 sufficient for all but the largest seeds. Of 

 course there are exceptions to this rule, and 

 these I have pointed out under the different 

 species. Thus the. Nasturtium should be in the 

 ground an inch, and the Sweet Pea fully five or 

 six inches. 



Every lover of flowers should gather the seeds 

 from his own plants, whenever possible. Only 

 by so doing can he learn the life history of 

 his plants, and only thus can he get the best 

 seeds. The best seeds are those from the 

 choicest flowers on the sturdiest plants, and 

 such should be marked when in bloom. Suit- 

 able tags are easily made, or they can be bought 

 ready wired at the seedstores, for about ^1.50 

 a thousand. I do not use an indelible pencil 

 for this work, but simply ordinary lead, which 

 will be decipherable for the brief time it is ex- 

 posed to the weather, and later the marks can 

 easily be removed with a simple piece of rub- 

 ber, and thus the tag can be used again and 



252 



