A-B-C OF VEGETABLE GARDENING 



Fresh air will be found a most important 

 factor in the growth of seedling plants in- 

 doors. Unless it can be given it will be al- 

 most impossible to grow any plant well in 

 the ordinary dwelling. It should be ad- 

 mitted to the room on every pleasant day 

 by opening a window at the top, or a door 

 at some distance from the plants. The fresh, 

 cold air should be allowed to mix with the 

 warm air in the room before it comes in con- 

 tact with the plants, as a chill will often do 

 about as much damage as a touch of frost. 



Watering these plants is a matter of prime 

 importance. Generally water is applied care- 

 lessly and irregularly — too much to-day, 

 and none at all to-morrow. We saturate the 

 soil with it while only enough is required to 

 make it moist. An over-supply of water at 

 the roots, combined with too much heat 

 and lack of fresh air, will undermine the 

 constitution of any plant, because such a 

 combination excites unnatural development, 

 and this means a lowering of the vital force 

 to the danger-point. 



I have devised a method by which I have 

 succeeded in controlling the supply of mois- 

 ture in the soil to my complete satisfaction. 

 I use boxes about four inches deep to start 

 my plants in. In the bottom of these boxes 



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