FEBRUARY: SECOND WEEK 39 



knocked over flat, weakening the plants and making the 

 stems crooked. 



Pests of Various Sorts. Mice will take the greatest 

 of pleasure in going over your seed boxes during the night 

 and rooting out the little seeds. In the frames or green- 

 house, slugs are likely to do damage. 



The Things to Do 



These are things not to do. As to the things to do, the 

 first, of course, is to provide a place to start the seeds. A 

 small greenhouse, a hot-bed, a sunny window in a room in 

 the house, or a cold-frame may be used. The objection 

 to the hot-bed is that you cannot work in it in bad weather 

 and the temperature cannot be watched and regulated as 

 well as in the greenhouse. In the house the atmosphere 

 is likely to be entirely too dry for seeds. The cold-frame 

 carmot be used early enough. 



The secret of success is in giving regular care. Watering 

 and ventilation must be looked after every day, particularly 

 as the spring sun grows stronger. During midday the 

 temperature in the frames will run up to an injurious 

 degree if the sashes are left on. 



Some gardeners make a practice of sowing the seed 

 directly in the soil, but under most circumstances it is far 

 more convenient to use flats. Seedlings grown directly in 

 the soil are not so likely to dry out if they are neglected, 

 but other advantages of the flats, in moving them about and 

 changing them from one frame to another, more than offset 

 this. Flats may be made quickly and easily from cracker or 

 soap boxes. Those for starting seeds may be made about 

 two inches deep; those for transplanting should be an inch 

 deeper. In putting bottoms on the flats, leave small 

 spaces between the boards, or bore several half-inch holes. 



The soil in which the seedlings are started should be 

 spongy enough to absorb and to retain moisture for a long 

 time; porous enough to let any surplus drain through it 

 rapidly; friable enough so that it will never form a crust; 



