SECTION III 

 GARDENING UNDER GLASS 



CHAPTER XVI 



The Flats 



We have now come to the time, from February to early 

 April according to our latitude (at any rate, five or six weeks 

 before we can safely plant hardy seeds out of doors), when 

 we should begin raising plants for the garden plot, in order 

 to prolong the season. By providing, indoors, with as much 

 sunlight as possible, an artificial climate in which the plants 

 can make a good start, we shall get our results long before 

 the gardener who does not begin until the frost is out of the 

 ground. 



For our work we must provide, as nearly as we can in an 

 ordinary house, the conveniences which the florist has in 

 his greenhouse. Of course our space is less than his, for we 

 shall have but a few window sills on which to expose our 

 plants to the sun. But we can make the space as large as 

 possible by putting tables close to the glass, or by building 

 shelves to widen the sills. If these tables or shelves stand 

 over radiators, so much the better. On them we are to 

 place miniature garden plots, in the shape of boxes of earth. 

 But the boxes and the earth must be carefully chosen. 



Boxes are better than pots, because they grow more plants, 

 cover more space, and dry out more slowly. They cost 

 less, since any boy or girl can make them out of material 



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