D. M. FERRY & CO., DETROIT, MICH 



19 



SEED WAREHOUSES OF D. M. FERRY & CO. 



The Essentials to the Production of 



Good Vegetables and Beautiful Flowers 



C A Q *1 A rich ' sand y !c> am is the best, but a fair de- 

 vjOOG DOll gree of success may be secured from any soil 

 which can be made rich and friable. Vegetables of the best 

 quality cannot be grown on barren sand, a cold, hard, lumpy 

 clay, nor in the shade of orchard or other trees. 



I *K 1 1V/I * A soi ^ '"'hie* 1 does not need en- 



LilDera.1 IVlanuring' riching in order to produce the 

 best results is rarely found and very often success is in pro- 

 portion to the liberality with which fertilizers have been 

 used. Well decomposed stable manure where straw bedding 

 has been used is the best; manure where sawdust has been 

 used for bedding is not so good. Often wood ashes at the 

 rate of one peck up to one bushel to the square rod will be 

 of great benefit. 



When good stable manure is not available, commercial fer- 

 tilizers may be used at the rate of four to twelve pounds to the 

 square rod and the more concentrated forms, such as Nitrate of 

 Soda, Guano, Dried Blood and Potash Salts, at the rate of one to 

 six pounds to the rod, the larger amounts preferably in three or 

 four applications and at intervals of about ten days. A mass 

 or lump of any of the commercial fertilizers, even if it is but 

 a quarter of an inch in diameter, is liable to kill any seed or 

 young plant which comes in contact with it, so it is very im- 

 portant if such fertilizers be used that they be thoroughly 

 pulverized and mixed with the soil. 

 ■Ti 1_ D *.• Rich soil and liberal man- 



l norougn r reparation uring win avail little with- 

 out thorough preparation. The soil must be made friable 

 by thorough and judicious working: if this is well done all 

 that follows will be easy; if it is neglected, only partial success 

 is possible and that at the cost of a great deal of hard work. 

 The garden should be well plowed or dug to a good depth, 

 taking care, if it is a clay soil, that the work is not done 

 when it is too wet. If a handful from the furrow moulds with 

 slight pressure into a ball which cannot be easily crumbled 

 into fine earth again, the soil is too wet and if stirred then 

 will be hard to work all summer. The surface should be 

 made as fine and smooth as possible with the harrow or 

 rake. It is generally desirable to plow the whole garden at 

 once and to do this in time for the earliest crops, but the part 

 which is not planted for some weeks should be kept mellow 

 by frequent cultivation. 



f> J Q J There is no more prolific source of dis- 

 viOOa deeuS appointment and failure among amateur 

 Prnnorlv Planter! gardeners than hasty, careless or 

 i rupcriy i milieu i mpr0 per sowing of the seed. A seed 

 consists of a minute plant enclosed in a hard and more 



or less impervious shell with a sufficient amount of food 

 stowed in or around the germ to sustain it until it can ex- 

 pand its leaves, form roots and provide for itself. Moisture, 

 heat and a certain amount of air are necessary to secure 

 germination. The germinating seed first absorbs water and 

 swells. The starchy matters gradually become soluble. The 

 seed-coats are ruptured, the rootlet emerges to go downward 

 and the stemlet starts upward. The embryo lives for a time on 

 the stored food, but gradually the plantlet secures a foothold 

 in the soil and gathers food for itself. Germination is complete 

 when the plantlet is able to shift for itself. 



A dry seed may retain its vitality and remain unchanged 

 for years, but after germination has commenced a check 

 of a day or two in the process may be fatal. There is no 

 time in the life of a plant when it is so susceptible of 

 injury from the over-abundance or want of sufficient heat 

 and moisture as at the period between the commencement 

 of germination and the formation of the first true leaves. 

 It is just then that the gardener should aid in securing favor- 

 able conditions. These are: 



FIRST— A proper and constant degree of moisture. The 

 soil should always be moist, never wet. To secure this cover 

 the seed as soon as it is planted with well pulverized, freshly 

 prepared earth pressing it firmly over the seed. This firming of. 

 the soil is very important as it brings the particles of earth into 

 close contact with seeds and roots, prevents the drying out of 

 the soil and facilitates quick growth. The best results are ob- 

 tained in small gardens by laying a board on the row and then 

 walking upon the board, or the back of the hoe may be used, 

 but for truck farms and field crops a roller is equally satisfactory. 



SECOND— A proper degree of heat, secured by sowing the 

 seed when the temperature of the soil is that most favorable to 

 the germination of the seed of that particular plant. Too high 

 a temperature is often as detrimental as one too low. The 

 proper temperature for each sort may be learned from a careful 

 study of the following pages and the experience of the most 

 successful gardeners in your vicinity. 



THIRD— Covering the seed to such a depth that while a 

 uniform degree of heat and moisture is preserved the necessary- 

 air can readily reach the germinating seed 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 not be covered with more than 

 half an inch of earth pressed down, while corn may be an inch, 

 beans an inch to two inches and peas one to three inches deep. 



