March, 1 !) 1 * 



T 1 1 E (JARI)KN M A ( I A Z I N E 



79 



diminutive trench one by one, about two 

 inches apart in the row — this to avoid 

 thinning out. Have wooden labels ready 

 and stick in the ground, close to the side 

 of the frame, as fast as each kind of seed 

 is planted. 



The question of drying out and wash- 

 ing out I have reduced to a very simple 

 one by the expedient of cutting a piece of 

 white cotton cloth the precise size of the 



seed bed. When the seed is all sown, I 

 lay this cloth on the bed and wet it well 

 with a watering can. The cloth keeps 

 the ground moist and the soil is not washed 

 at all by the sprinkling. Until the seeds 

 begin to come through the ground all the 

 watering is done through the cloth, which 

 later may be used to lay on top of the sash 

 for shade. 



Unless a great number of plants are 



needed, thinning may be done in the cold- 

 frame; a certain amount must usually be 

 done there in any case. If a considerable 

 stock is required, it is better to have a 

 second frame ready for transplanting. 



If the weather turns warm, or in the 

 case of summer planted seeds, the sash may 

 be replaced by narrow slats, which keep the 

 soil from baking rapidly and at the same 

 time permit the necessary air circulation. 



The Whole Art Of Raising Seedlings — By Parker Thayer Barnes, 



Penn- 

 sylvania 



HOW TO HAVE A BIGGER AND BETTER GARDEN AT A LESSENED EXPENSE. ANNUALS, PERENNIALS AND SHRUBS COM- 

 MONLY BOUGHT FROM PLANTSMEN OR NURSERYMEN THAT CAN BE EASILY RAISED AT HOME IN LARGE QUANTITIES 



SEEDS can be started in any window 

 garden. The temperature of the 

 kitchen or living room is usually just right 

 so that it is only necessary to provide a 

 shelf or a table at the window on which 

 the pots, pans or flats can be placed. Here 

 they will be under 

 the watchful eye of 

 the grower all day 

 and can be given the 

 necessary attention 

 without unneces- 

 sary waste of time 

 or steps. If a green- 

 house is available 

 give a temperature 

 of 6o degrees at 

 night with a raise 

 of io degrees during 

 the day. 



Annuals, perenni- 

 als and even shrubs 

 can be raised from 

 seeds. These latter 

 can be grown in the 

 garden requiring no 

 room in the house 

 for starting. 



Certain oommon 

 annuals such as as- 

 ters, zinnias, and 

 such like are easily 

 growm, and indeed 

 everybody grows 

 th e m ; but how 

 many of us have 

 tried to raise helio- 

 trope, begonias, dah- 

 lias, cannas and similar plants? Instead we 

 buy these each year at individual root rates. 



The following are plants which are 

 annuals or which can be grown as such, 

 that is, from seed to bloom the first year: 



Abutilon 



Ageratum 



Banana {Musa Ensete) 



Have a good seed soil. One composed 

 of equal parts of good garden loam or 

 rotted sod, and leaf mold, with sufficient 

 sand to insure good drainage, will give 

 good results. If leaf mold is not avail- 

 able, get the soil from a piece of ground 



A ••flat' 



Begonia 

 Canna 



Castor-oil plant 



Cineraria maritima 



Cigar plant 



Carnation 



Cosmos 



Dahlia 



Gaillardia 



Geranium 



Heliotrope 



Lantana 



L obelia Erinus 



varieties 

 Nicotiana alala 

 Nicotiana Sanderm 

 Petunia 

 Salvia 

 Torenia 

 Verbena 



of seeds, in section, to show how coarse drainage material is provided at the bottom, 

 seed board in use to "firm" the surface after sowing fine seeds 



which has been well fertilized for a couple 

 of years, and add sand. The amount of 

 sand will vary according to the character 

 of the soil. Never use a clay, because it 

 will bake, making it hard for the seeds to 

 break through the surface. 



The seeds can be sown in pots, pans or 

 flats — the flats being soap or similar boxes, 

 and three inches in depth. For this work 

 I prefer pots or pans, preferably pans 

 (which are merely shallow pots). In the 

 bottom place some drainage, such as broken 

 pots, coal clinkers or stone. Over this 

 should go some rough material which can 

 be had by screening the seed soil through a 



and its 



mesh of a quarter or three eighths of an 

 inch. On top of this put about an inch 

 and a half of the screened soil and press 

 it down. This should bring the top of the 

 soil to within about a half inch of the top 

 of the pot or pan. In pots more drainage 

 will be necessary 

 than in pans or flats. 

 I prefer a six or 

 eight-inch pan for 

 most of this work. 



Where only a 

 comparatively few 

 seeds of a given 

 kind are to be sown 

 two kinds can be 

 sown in the same 

 pan, a division be- 

 ing made through 

 the centre with a 

 small, thin stick. 

 The seeds are scat- 

 tered around thinly 

 and covered with 

 fine soil. To get it 

 on evenly I use a 

 sieve which has a 

 mesh about the size 

 of mosquito netting; 

 such a sieve can in- 

 deed be made out 

 of a small box and 

 wire mosquito net- 

 ting. The amount 

 of soil covering the 

 seeds will vary ac- 

 cording to the size 

 of the seeds. An 

 eighth of an inch will suffice for most 

 seeds, but where the seeds are very fine, 

 such as petunia seeds, for instance, only 

 a very thin covering is necessary. 



If the seeds are sown in fiats, several 

 kinds can be put in the same one. The 

 flat can be divided as suggested for the 

 pans by means of thin sticks or the seeds 

 can be sown in rows. 



After covering, the soil should be watered 

 to settle it. This can be done with the 

 coarser seeds with a fine-rosed watering 

 pot, but the fine seeds should be watered 

 by placing the pan in a vessel of water, 

 allowing the water to soak up from below. 



The 



