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D. M. FERRY & CO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



SOWING THE SEED. — There is no more prolific source of disappointment and failure among 

 amateur gardeners than hasty, careless or improper sowing of the seed. A seed consists of a minute plant minus the 

 roots; with a sufficient amount of food stowed in or around it to sustain it until it can expand its leaves, form roots, 

 and provide for itself, the whole enclosed in a hard and more or less impervious shell. To secure germination, mois- 

 ture, heat, and a certain amount of air are necessary. The first steps are the softening of the hard, outer shell, the 

 developing of the leaves of the plant from the absorption of water, and the changing of the plant food from the form 

 of starch to that of sugar. In the first condition the food was easily preserved unchanged, but the plant with its 

 undeveloped leaves and no root was incapable of using it, while in its sugary condition it is easily appropriated; 

 but if not used it speedily decays itself and induces decay in the plant. A seed then may retain its vitality and 

 remain unchanged for years, while after germination has commenced, a check of a day or two in the process may 

 be fatal. There is no time from that when the seed falls from the parent plant until it in turn produces seed, rip- 

 ens and dies, when the plant is so susceptible of fatal injury from the overabundance or want of heat and moisture, 

 as at that between the commencement of germination and the formation of the first true leaves, and it is just then 

 that it needs the aid of a gardener to secure favorable conditions. These are: — 



First. — A proper and constant degree of moisture without being soaked with water. This is secured by mak- 

 ing the surface of freshly dug soil so fine that the smallest seeds may come in immediate contact on all sides with 

 the particles from which they are to absorb the required moisture and the pressing of the soil over the seeds so 

 firmly with the feet or the back of the hoe that the degree of moisture may remain as nearly as possible the same 

 until the plants are up. 



Second. — A proper degree of heat, secured by sowing each variety of seed when the average temperature of the 

 locality is that most favorable for its germination. This may be learned from a careful study of the following 

 pages and the experience of the most successful gardeners of your vicinity. 



Third. — Covering the seed to such a depth that while it is preserved at a uniform degree of heat and moisture, 

 the necessary air can readily reach it, and the tiny stem push the forming leaves into the light and air. This depth 

 will vary with different seeds and conditions of the soil, and can be learned only from practical experience. In 

 general, seeds of the size of the Turnip should be covered with half an inch of earth pressed down, while Corn 

 may be an inch, Beans two or three, and Peas two to six inches deep. 



Fourth. — Such condition of soil that the ascending stem can easily penetrate it, and the young roots speedily 

 find suitable food. We can usually secure this by thorough preparation of the ground, and taking care never to 

 sow fine seeds when the ground is wet. Occasionally a heavy or long continued rain followed by a bright sun will 

 so bake and crust the surface that it is impossible for the young plant to find its way through it, or a few days of 

 strong wind will so dry the surface that no seed can germinate. In such cases our only remedy is to plant again. 



CUI^TI'V A.TIO^J . — Every weed should be removed as soon as it appears, especially while the plants are 

 young; this will require almost daily attention, but if well done early in the season, the later work will be light, but 

 mere destruction of weeds is by no means the only object of cultivation. A. J. Downing, who was perhaps the best 

 horticulturist America has known, said: " If I were to preach a sermon on horticulture, I should take as my text, 

 4 Stir the Soil,' " and certainly the text would contain much of the gospel of successful gardening; frequent and 

 deep stirring will enable one to grow fine vegetables on comparatively poor and slightly manured soil, while with- 

 out it one fails to gain much advantage from the richest and finest soil. Care should be taken that the cultivation 

 is not done when the soil is wet, or Peas, Beans and Melons stirred when the leaves are wet with dew, as such 

 disturbance is liable to injure the leaves, and make them susceptible to injury from rust. With this exception, 

 cultivate as often and as thoroughly as possible. 



For early vegetables, some provision for starting certain plants earlier than can be done in the open air is neces- 

 sary; for this purpose nothing is better than a good hot-bed, and its construction is so simple and the expense so 

 light that every garden should have one. A hot-bed proper not only protects the plants from the cold, but supplies 

 bottom heat. By this term the gardener means that the soil is constantly kept several degrees warmer than the air 

 above, that being the condition so far as heat is concerned which is most favorable for rapid and vigorous growth. 

 It is evident that to produce this we must in some way apply our heat below the surface, and it is usually done by 

 making a compact pile of some fermenting material and covering it with the earth in which the plants are to grow. 



HEATING MATERIAEi — The best heating material that is easily available is fresh horse manure, 

 containing a liberal quantity of bedding, which may be straw, shavings, or best of all, leaves. Such manure, if 

 thrown into a loose pile, will heat violently and unevenly and will soon become cold. What is wanted in the hot- 

 bed is a steady and moderate but lasting heat. To secure this, the manure should be forked over and thrown into 

 a loose pile, which should remain undisturbed for a few days and then be forked over again, piled and allowed to 

 heat a second time, when after a few days more it will be ready for use. The object of this repeated forking over 

 and piling is to get the whole mass into a uniform degree of fermentation. 



SASH. — Gardeners commonly use sash made especially for hot-beds and glazed with small lights cut from 

 odds and ends and so furnished at very low rates. Such sash can usually be procured in any of our large cities and 

 cost much less than if made to order. For garden use, however, we much prefer a small size that can be easily 

 handled and the use of larger and better glass. We would recommend that the sash be three by five feet, and 

 that the glass be not less than iox 14, laid with not more than one-quarter inch lap. In giving the order to one 

 unaccustomed to the work, it would be well to state what they are to be used for, and that they need to be made 

 like sky-light sash. 



