18 D. M. FERRY & GO'S DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 



The Essentials to the Production of ^ 



GOOD VEGETABLES and | 

 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 1 



Good Soil 



A rich, sandy loam is the best, but a fair degree 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. 



Liberal Manuring 



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 fertilizers 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 

 important if such fertilizers be used that they be thoroughly pulverized and mixed with the soil. 



Thorough Preparation 



Rich soil and liberal manuring will avail little without 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. 



Good Seeds Properly Planted 



There is no more prolific source of disappointment and failure among amateur gardeners than hasty, careless 

 or improper sowing of the seed. A dry seed may retain its vitahty 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 favorable 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 

 obtained 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. 



FOURTH — Such a 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 the young plants will be killed. In such cases the only remedy 

 is to plant again. 



