10 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



February, 1914- 



species by their true names that sneer at 

 the practice. Other people find it de- 

 cidedly useful, not to say accurate and 

 business-like. 



Assuming that your seed order has been 

 taken care of these several weeks past, 

 make a list of plants and trees that you 

 need for spring planting and send it off. 



Of the fruits, remember, the stone kinds 

 — peach, plum, etc. — should be set in the 

 spring; also the thin-barked and fleshy 

 rooted types of ornamentals, such as birch, 

 magnolia, etc., etc. Strawberries, bush 

 fruits, tender roses and a long list of orna- 

 mental shrubs and climbers can also be in- 

 cluded. 



Save- in a good dry place all the wood 

 ashes you can get to be worked into any 

 new rose beds that you plan to make. 



Three bulbs for February planting and 

 exquisite summer results are begonia, 

 gloxinia, and achimenes. 



Start the first in flats in which a couple 

 of inches of soil is covered with half an 

 inch of sand. Barely cover the bulbs with 

 sand to prevent their rotting. Gentle 

 bottom heat will develop roots and start 

 the leaves, when the bulbs are ready for 

 potting. 



Gloxinias should be rooted in moss at a 

 temperature of about 65 degrees. Sand 

 may be sifted between to keep them steady. 

 In potting these take great care not to 

 injure the root system. 



Achimenes bulbs should be covered with 

 about half an inch of soil and kept where 

 the temperature does not fall below 60 

 degrees at night. Keep the soil loose and 

 porous and when potting (when the plants 

 are two inches high) see that there is 

 thorough drainage. 



If there is no lack of shrubbery and tree 

 growth in your neighborhood, you can 

 afford to bring in from time to time a 

 branch of willow, red maple, forsythia, 



Small seeds are best sown direct from the packet 

 which is folded across the centre to make a chan- 

 nel to guide the seed 



Japan quince, apple, or other early bloomer, 

 place it in water to be changed every day 

 or two, and watch it get the jump on the 

 spring season. 



Is Your Seed Good ? 



'X'HE way to keep these dark winter 

 * days cheerful and interesting is to 

 keep busy. 



Until time to sow beans, peas, corn, etc., 

 try testing your seed supply. Of the 

 several simpler methods the latest makes 

 use of the "rag doll" tester. To make one 

 take a piece of canton flannel about ten 

 inches wide and eighteen or more inches 

 long, depending on the amount of seed you 

 want to test. Mark off three quarter-inch 

 squares in blocks of 100, ten each way of the 

 cloth. Moisten it, lay a seed in each 

 square, carefully roll the strip and tie it to 

 prevent the seed from moving. Then 

 stand it in a shallow pan or plate of water or 

 wet it often enough to keep it moist. At 

 the end of ten days or so unroll, count the 

 seeds that have germinated and you have 

 the percentage of vitality of the sample. 



The Art of February Seed 



Sowing 



■yOUR February seed bed may be either 

 a greenhouse bench, a hotbed, or a 

 simple flat in one of the above mentioned 

 places or a sunny kitchen window. In 

 either case its preparation and treatment 

 is the same. First, that is, at the bottom, 

 will come a layer of drainage material, 

 coarse gravel, cinders or broken crockery, 

 etc., that should be from if inches deep 

 in the flat to 2 or 3 in the bench. In the 

 hotbed, of course, the manure will take the 

 place of this material. 



On this spread a thin layer of moss, ex- 

 celsior, leafmold, or anything to prevent 

 the soil from sifting down into the drainage 

 stratum. 



Next spread the soil evenly, carefully 

 filling the corners and picking out stones, 

 sticks and other rubbish. For all general 

 purposes, a thorough mixture of two parts 

 rotted sod, two parts leafmold, and one 

 part sand will serve admirably, unless you 

 have already prepared a compost of the 

 right texture. This layer will be about 2 

 inches deep in the flat and from 4 to 6 

 or more in the bench and hotbed. 



To finish off sift about a quarter of an 

 inch of fine soil over the top; then firm the 

 whole carefully with a wooden float or 

 piece of board. 



Next thoroughly moisten the soil but 

 without disturbing it. Flats can be placed 

 in 2 or 3 inches of water until the soil be- 

 comes soaked from underneath, or cheese- 

 cloth can be spread on top and the water 

 sprinkled upon it. 



The next step is to mark out the rows, 

 their depth and spacing, depending upon 

 the seeds to be sown. The most accurate 

 method makes use of a thin strip of board 

 just the inside length of the bed, beveled 



on the lower edge, with the desired depth 

 marked by a small nail or cleat to prevent 

 the drill being made too deep. To space 

 the rows accurately lay down another strip 

 of wood as a guide, moving it along as 

 necessary. 



Scatter the seed directly from the packet, 

 spreading it evenly in the drills by means of 

 a pencil or skewer. Don't be over eco- 

 nomical for most seeds are cheap, but at the 

 same time avoid excessive crowding which 

 renders future transplanting difficult. 



Cover the seed by sifting on a little — 

 a very little — fine sand, soil or vegetable 

 fibre, just enough to surround them with a 

 moist medium for germination. In the 

 case of the larger sorts the soil can be 

 firmed again, but very gently. 



Cover the flat with a sheet of glass to 

 prevent rapid evaporation, for the air of 

 the dwelling is much drier than that of 

 hotbed or conservatory and would other- 

 wise require almost continuous watering. 



Protect from exceedingly bright sun- 

 light and supply water to keep the soil 

 moist, but be careful not to wash out seeds 

 or disturb the soil with a heavy stream or 

 coarse spray. 



DEPTHS TO SOW SOME COMMON ANNUALS. 

 AND PERENNIALS 



One-eighth inch. Annuals: Ageratum, 

 calliopsis, giant sultan, love-in-a-mist, 

 mourning bride, orange daisy, ostrich 

 plume, salpiglossis. Perennials: achillea, 

 baby's breath, columbine, larkspur, poppy. 



One-quarter inch. — Annuals: alyssum, 

 aster, candytuft, eschscholzia, phlox, por- 

 tulaca, verbena. Perennials: blanket 

 flower, campion, coreopsis, hollyhock, pinks,, 

 Stokesia, sweet William. 



One-half inch. — Annuals: cosmos, mari- 

 gold, zinnia. 



Other depths. — Petunia, barely cover; 

 sweet peas (if indoors at all), two to three 

 inches. 



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Large seeds are taken in the hand and sowed by- 

 dropping through the fingers. They can be evenly- 

 spaced with a little practice 



