DREER'S RELIABLE SEEDS 



16 feet 5 inches by 6 feet — allowing 1 inch separation, on 

 the bearers. The glass should be imbedded in the putty 

 and secured with points, and well painted every year to 

 keep in repair. After the season for use is past, store tlieiu 

 away from the weather or keep in a pile with a board 

 covering. Care in these respects will save considerable 



annual expense. The hot-bed should have a southern or 

 southeastern exposure, and should be made with fresh 

 horse manure, which must be laid iu a heap preparatory 

 to being used ; when in a proper state of fei-meutation, 

 place the frame on the heap. Six 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. 

 The heap should be made two feet longer and wider than 



the frame. Where the ground is well drained, a better 

 plan is to dig out a space the size of the frame from 1 to 2 

 feet deep, according to the season and the heat required, 

 in which the manure is placed, care being taken to pack 

 it firmly and evenly. 



In addition to the hot-bed frame, mats or shutters will 

 be required to cover the sash during cold days and nights. 



COLD FRAMES.— The cold frame for w'intering Cab- 

 bage, Cauliflower, Ijettuce Plants, etc., should be con- 

 structed of 1-inch boards 1 foot high at the back by 9 

 inches high in front and 6 feet wide; 5 short posts to the 

 length of 16 feet boards will answer to keep in position. 

 The shutters should be 6 feet 4 inches long by 3 feet wide, 

 made of common rough boards. The soil should be en- 

 riched by old and well-decayed manure; the object being 

 to preserve and not to grow the plants during the winter. 

 Give plenty of air by raising the shutters every mild, 

 pleasant day, but on no consideration open the frame or 

 expose the plants to the sun when the ground or plants 

 are frozen, as it will destroy them. 



Very many who read this article on hot-beds and cold- 

 frames do not require the expense for a kw vegetable and 

 flower plants. To such there is an excellent substitute on 

 hand in most dwellings, in the kitchen or basement win- 

 dows, facing south or east, inside of which is a temperature' 

 usually not far from that required for the vegetation of 

 seeds, and where seeds of early vegetables, or tender plants 

 for the flower border, may be raised nearly as well, and 

 with far less attention, than in a hot-bed. 



Remarks oi^^ the Failure of Seeds. 



From a conviction that the Seedsman's fair reputation 

 is often unjustly defamed, through the failure of seeds, we 

 would briefly state some of the causes: 



Some cultivators, through ignorance or forgetfulness 

 of the fact that the products of a garden, being natives of 

 various soils and climates, require peculiar management, 

 sow the seeds in the ground at impro|ier seasons. To aid 

 sucji we have'prepared brief directions, founded on practi- 

 cal experience in the vicinity of Philadelphia, where gar- 

 dening operations are generally commenced early in March. 

 These directions may, however, be ajiplied to all other 

 parts of the United States, by an observance of the 

 difi'erence in temperature. Thus, to the Xortli, the direc- 

 tions for March will apply to April ; and at the South to 

 January, February or whatever season gardening opera- 

 tions may commence in the respective States. The early 

 and most hardy species and varieties should not be planted 

 until the ground can be brought into good condition, as 

 some species of plants, that in an advanced stage of growth 

 will stand a hard winter, are often cut off by a very .slight 

 frost while young, especially if exposed to tlie sun after a 

 frosty night. 



Some species of seed, such as>Beans, Beet, Cabbage, Let- 

 tuce, Radish, Salsify, Turnip, etc., being from their nature 

 apt to vegetate quickly, are often destroyed while ger- 

 minating through variableness of the weather, and some are 

 liable to be devoured by insects in forty-eight hours after 

 they are sown, and before a plant is seen above the ground, 

 unless a suitable remedy is applied in time to destroy the 

 insects. 



Other species, such as Carrots, Celery, Leek, Onion, 

 Parsley, Parsnip, Spinach, etc., being naturally of tardy 

 growth, take (in unfavorable seasons) from two to three or 

 four weeks to vegetate, are apt to perish through incrusta- 

 tion of the soil, or other untoward and unaccountable cir- 

 cumstances, which cannot always be controlled. 



Failures often occur through seeds being deposited too 

 deeply in the ground, or left too near the surface. Some- 

 times, for the want of a proper quantity of seed in a given 

 spot, solitary plants will perish, they not having sufficient 

 strength to open the pores of the earth, and very frequently 

 injudicious management in over manuring and improperly 

 preparing the soil causes defeat. 



In some sowings of seed made during dry weather, with 

 a drought following, a total failure often occurs from 

 ne.glecting to firmly press or roll in the seeds, so that when 

 fhey germinate the action of the heat and drought may not 

 ntfect the germ. We are satisfied that thousands of pounds 

 of Turnif), late Cabbage and other summer-sown seeds are 

 annunlly lost from this neglect. Never tread or roll in the 

 seeds when the ground is wet. 



Do not raise Egg Plants, etc., in the same liot-bed with 

 Cabbage, and other half-hardy plants that require air every 

 mild day; by such management one or the other must 

 suffer — lieat being the principal requisite of tender plants, 

 and air that of the more hardy varieties. 



For instructions on these and all other points of Gar- 

 dening, the reader is referred to our Book List for reliable 

 works on these subjects, which we mail postpaid on receipt 

 of price. 



THE SEED TESTS, 



For the protection of the planter and the benefit of the j summer trials of all new and old varieties furnish oppor- 

 seller, are made thoroughly before tlie selling season at tunity for comparison of their relative merits, and we are 

 our extensive greenhouse establishment, where each vari- j thus enabled to quickly ascertain, to our customers' inter- 

 ety is subjected to the most critical trial, which places us i est, what sorts to recommend and which to discard, 

 in a position to determine the germinating power. Here, also, the standard varieties are tested to secure the 



The trial grounds at the Riverton Farm devoted to the i very best strain of their kind. 



DREER'S FIVE, TEN, MD TWENTY DOLLIR BOXES OF VEGETABLE SEEDS. 



For the convenience of customers unfamiliar with the 

 best varieties of vegetables, we have put up in these as- 

 sortments liberal quantities of the most useful sorts for a 

 succession of crops throughout the season. The Twenty 

 Dollar Boxes contain an abundant supply for a family of 



15 to 20 persons, the smaller Boxes a proportionate quantity. 

 As these assortments are put up ready for shipment, no 

 changes can be made in quantities or varieties. Those 

 who do not wish the collections as selected, are recom- 

 mended to make up their orders from our lists. 



Market Gardeners, requiring large quantities of Seed, will be furnished with special prices on application. 



