Wake robins are in flower as the lady fern unfolds 
its fronds 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
of the adder’s tongues were transplanted 
from the side of a bank of stiff clay 
and three inches below the surface, others 
were brought from the rich sandy alluvial 
deposit of an island in the river and eight 
inches under the surface; yet they both 
thrive in this bed. In the case of the 
clay, leafmold lay on the surface, and 
in that of the island soil leafmold was 
a component part. Most of the plants 
described in this article will stand a con- 
siderable variation in the relative pro- 
portions of the four factors, but the 
absence of any one of them would be a 
serious drawback. 
JuNE, 1908 
This ten-year-old clump of maidenhair almost 
outgrows its real beauty 
Garden Tools that Really Help, IHI-By J. Lukens Kayan, 2h 
THE SEEDERS, A GROUP OF LABOR SAVING-MACHINES THAT THE AMATEUR SHOULD CONSIDER, 
NO MATTER HOW SMALL THE GARDEN—THEY ALSO MAKE NEATER AS WELL AS BETTER GARDENS 
GEER sowing devices are valuable ad- 
juncts to the tools of tillage. When 
garden operations open with a rush in the 
spring and it seems as though all the seed 
sowing must be done the same day, sowings 
are often considerably delayed owing to 
the lack of time in which to complete them. 
This means that fresh vegetables will be 
ready for use so much later. 
In its special sphere a good seeder will save 
the gardener as much time as does the wheel 
hoe compared with the hand hoe, although 
I do not regard the seeder as an essential 
part of every gardener’s outfit of tools, yet 
the garden must be small indeed that cannot 
profitably afford one combined with a 
wheel hoe, if not a separate seeder. 
Three operations are involved in seed- 
sowing by hand: opening the furrow, sowing 
the seed, covering and firming the soil; and 
unless very carefully done, the plants are 
liable to stand in a row straggling instead 
of ina narrow straight line. 
The seed drill performs all three opera- 
tions at once, and in addition, by means of 
a simple attachment, it also marks the next 
row. The completed work is done at the 
speed of a moderate walk, the seed being 
sowed in a narrow straight line, making 
subsequent cultivation with the wheel hoe 
easy, and the hoes can be set so close to the 
Opening the furrow, sowing the seed, covering, and 
firming the soil all done at once with this tool 
row that the necessary hand work is reduced 
to a minimum. Such crops as carrots, 
beets, turnips, etc., will seldom require 
weeding more than once, this work being 
done when the plants are large enough to 
thin. Thinning and weeding is then done 
in one operation. 
Allowing the seedling plants to stand 
too closely in the row will cause them to be 
spindling and weak, a preliminary thinning 
may be necessary if the seed has been sowed 
too thickly. This most often happens with 
hand sowing, as the seed is liable to be 
sowed thickly in some places and thinly in 
others. With the seeder the quantity sowed 
can be accurately regulated. Some seeds, 
such as beans and peas, vary greatly in 
size, however, so that it is necessary to 
make a test on a floor, a sheet of paper 
or muslin, before going into the garden. 
There are two distinct types of machine. 
First the plain drill which will sow the 
seed In a continuous row; second, the com- 
bined hill dropper and drill seeder. The 
latter is by far the more useful; it costs more, 
but the difference in price is small in com- 
parison to the greater range of work. By 
using a hill dropper such seeds as bush beans, 
(including limas), beets, turnip, etc., can be 
sowed in hills which effects a saving of seed, 
and more especially of much of the labor 
of thinning and spacing the plants to regular 
and proper distances apart in the row. 
When thinning hills the strongest plant in. 
each hill is left to grow, but in dealing with 
drills several strong plants are liable to 
stand too close together to give room for 
full development of each, and it is diffi- 
cult to properly space the plants. With 
the majority of plants that are commonly 
grown in rows, sowing in hills will give a 
more regular stand of strong plants. 
Different styles of seeders vary somewhat 
in detail, but the general plan of construc- 
tion is similar in all cases. My particular 
tool sows in a continuous row or drops 
the seed in hills, four, six, eight, twelve, 
or twenty-four inches apart. A cut-off 
attached to the handle within easy reach 
prevents waste of seed in turning. An 
index is marked with the names of fifteen 
vegetables which is ample for anybody. 
The depth of sowing can be accurately 
regulated. Thus, when sowing late peas 
which should be planted deeply, I throw 
out a furrow with the plows attached to 
the wheel hoe, and run the seeder in this 
furrow when sowing, but do not fill in the 
furrow then. ‘This is done with the wheel 
hoe as the-peas make growth, and the filling 
also smothers any weeds that may be start- 
ing and saves hand weeding. This same 
principle applied to potatoes will save 
still more labor. 
The convenience of marking the next row 
is great indeed. It assures a uniform series 
and all that is necessary is to see that the 
first one is laid off straight. ‘This marker is 
adjustable for distances of from six to twenty 
inches and is quickly changed from one side 
to the other, from between the handles when 
turning at the end of a row. Corn, which 
in the home garden is usually sowed with 
from thirty to thirty-six inches between the 
rows, is marked off with a cultivator tooth 
attached to the wheel hoe. ; 
The handles are adjustable for height the 
same as the wheel hoe. A special opening 
The seeder is quickly converted into a single wheel 
hoe, thus being two tools in one 
