92 GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 



ground. It is safest, on the whole, to allow ample room. Give 

 rein to the imagination, remembering that, if all goes well, one 

 wee, shriveled seed will make an opulent tomato plant. 



Suppose that the drills have been of the required depth, 

 that the seeds have been scattered or laid within at the proper 

 distance, that the soil has been raked over the seeds without 

 disturbing them and has been made firm by pressure ; the 

 next move is to pack them in tight. Accordingly tread, yes, 

 stamp them down, or press them with a board. In case the 

 earth is too dry at the time of sowing, it is a good scheme to 

 fill the furrow with water, then lay in the seeds, crumbling 

 over them some damp earth. Finally, pack them down as 

 already directed, and make it a rule always to scatter along 

 the surface of the row a layer of loose, dry earth. Do not 

 leave the spot without marking it clearly with a wooden 

 or a metal label telling the name of the seed and other data. 

 This is more important than one might guess. The habit of 

 careful labeling prevents many an awkward mistake, and it 

 makes a garden far more interesting. 



All the planting, of course, will not be done in the open. 

 Many sorts of plants can be started under cover, anticipating 

 the season by a month or more, and at the right time they 

 can be set outdoors. Everything that can possibly masquer- 

 ade as a window box or pot will now be pressed into service. 

 Tin cans and cigar boxes suddenly rise in value. Whether 

 indoors or out, the use of various sorts of glass covers to 

 prevent rapid evaporation will be found indispensable. 



Some of this preliminary planting, besides, is often done by 

 young people just by way of experiment ; they want to try new 

 ways of testing seeds, of growing them at different depths, and 

 of starting them in different materials: Some attention will 

 unquestionably be given to preparing a little nursery of seed- 

 lings for transplanting. Indeed, one can seldom have too 



