Dreer's Garden Calendar. 3 



the whole bill, to facilitate the execution of your orders. During the busy season, to make out 

 bills for customers, mail, charge, and in a few days receive the money, make the proper credit, 

 and send receipt, requires more work than we can possibly perform during the great press of 

 business in the spring. 



C. 0. D. — We decline sending perishable goods Collect on Delivery to distant points, unless 

 a remittance be made on account to guarantee the acceptance. Persons often order small pack- 

 ages sent in this way, and the express charges sometimes amount to more than the goods. 



Errors, — We exercise the utmost care in the filling of orders, striving to do a little more 

 than we offer, yet in the press of business errors sometimes occur, in which event we wish to be 

 promptly notified of the fact, and will make such corrections as will be perfectly satisfactory. 

 Please keep copies of all orders. 



The Safe Arrival of Packages Guaranteed. — We guarantee the safe arrival of packages of 

 Seeds, Bulbs and Plants in good condition in every case. K a package is injured or lost, 

 we will replace it as soon as informed of the fact. 



Name and Address. — Please remember to write your Narne, Post Office, County and State 

 as distinctly as possible, especially the name; also the nearer Express Office, when goods are 

 ordered to be shi]>ped in this way. 



Please Write the Orders Legibly in a list apart from the body of the letter, to facili- 

 tate execution and prevent errors; orders for plants should be on a separate sheet; the departr 

 ments are separate, but shipments of seeds and plants are made in one parcel, to save additional 

 express charges. Address, 



HENRY A. DREER, 

 Lock-Box 37. No, 714 Chestnut St., Philadelphia. 



VEGETABLE GARDEN. 



Preparation of the Ground. — To secure a fair return in seasonable crops, for the labor 

 and outlay invested, it is essential that the soil of the Vegetable Garden should be well under- 

 drained, thorough} y trenched or subsoiled, and enriched by a judicious application of fertilizing 

 material. It is still the current opinion, based on experience, that for all purposes well-com- 

 posted b<tm-yard manure, when available, is the best material. We do not deny, however, that 

 several of the concentrated manures, now manufactured, are useful and convenient, esj^eeinlly 

 for a succession of crops. 



The exposure of a garden has much to do with the early maturity of the crops; an exposure 

 to the morning sun is desirable. The soil must be in a friable state to secure the prompt vege- 

 tation of the seeds, and the destruction, or rather prevention, of weeds, is one of the most desira- 

 ble results of frequent stirring of the surface. Soils are susceptible of alteration and improve- 

 ment in texture ; heavy clays can be rendered open and porous, and light sandy soils may be 

 consolidated and rendered more retentive of moisture. For all such details we must refer the 

 amateur to more extensive treatises on these subjects, to be found in our "Farmer's and Gar- 

 dener's Library." 



Garden Requisites. — There are several aids to the economical management wf the garden, 

 which are almost indispensable ; one of these is the HOT-BED frame for the forwarding of plants 

 for early planting. A frame, such as is shown 

 in the cut, may be made of various sizes, ac- 

 cording to the size of garden, from four sashes 

 upwards. The length of sash is generally 6 feet 

 by 4 wide, the size of glass, 8 by 10 inches, in- 

 cluding sash bearers, making the entire frame 

 of four sashes 16 feet 3 inches by 6 feet. The 

 frame should have a southern or southeastern 

 exposure, should be made up with fresh horse 

 manure and a few leaves mixed with it : this must be laid in a heap preparatory to being used, 

 and when in a proper state of fermentation, is prepared for the reception of the frame. 10 inches of 

 rich loamy soil must be spread over the manure, then cover the frame with the sashes and after 

 standing a few days to allow the rank heat and steam to pass off, the seed can be sown. W^here 



