VALUABLE AGRICULTURAL BOOKS 



Aeparasus Culture Flex. Cloth $ 50 



American Rose Culturis^t 30 



Barry's Fruit Garden. New and Revised Edition. . 2 Q i 



boiumer's Method of Making Manure 25 



Brill's Cauliflowers 20 



Brill's Farm-Gardeuiug and Seed-Growing 1 00 



Broom-Corn and Brooms 50 



Breck's New Book of F owers 1 75 



Burr's Vegetables of America 3 00 



Celery Culture 50 



Downing's Fruits aud Fruit Trees of America. 



New Edition 5 00 



Elliott's Hand Book for Fruit Growers. Pa. 60c.;clo. 1 W 



Every Woman Her Own Flower Gardener 1 00 



Forest Leaves . . 50 



Fitz's Sweet Potato Culture (50 



Gregory on Cabbages 30 



" " Carrots and Mangels 30 



^^At the prices named, the books will be ma 



Gregory on Onions 30 



" " Squashes , 30 



Henderson's Gardening for Profit 2 00 



" " '* Pleasure 1 50 



" Practical Florifulture ... 1 50 



" Hand Book of I'lants 3 00 



Hop Culture. New and Revised Edition 30 



The Language of Flowers '2fi 



Ouions— How to raise tht iu Profitably 25 



Purdy's Small Fruit ln?tructor 25 



Roe's Play aud Profit in My Garden 1 50 



Sugar Caues. Thtir Culture aud Manufacture 1 00 



Stoddard's An Egg Farm 50 



The Poultry Yard and Market 50 



Text Book on Silk Culture .. 25 



Thomas' American Fruit Culturist. New Edilion. 2 lO 

 Tobacco Culture. By fourteen experienced culti- 

 vators , 25 



iled, POSTAGE PAID, on receipt of the money. 



IMPORTANT Hints— PLEASE READ- 



SOWING THE SEED AND PREPARING THE SOIL. These are very important matters; and care 

 should be taken to have your seed bed Jinely raked, aud free from all rubbish and lumps, aud well enriched 

 with well-rotted mauure, and also not to sow seed (oo earlu-, or in other words, uutil the soil becomes scfficie/itly 

 a/;cZ t// 7/, so that it will work mellow and crumble to pieces when struck with the spade. Do not attempt 

 to raise fine flowers or good vegetables on a poor soil. Always keep a heap of mauure on hand for the next 

 season, \Vh<n it will be thoroughly rotted and ready for use. If these poiuts are overlooked, and the seed sown 

 too early, it is apt to rot or perish, aud consequently involve a loss and sad disappointment on the part of the 

 cu tivator, and it is not the fault of the seed or seedsmen, as it is unfortuuately laid a great many times. How- 

 ever, in all ca:^es, follow as nearly as possible the du-ections of each variety, as given in the Catalogue, and you 

 will have a marked success. By sowing everything, as much as possible, in d/ills, instead of broadcast, a great 

 deal of labor will be saved, as all can be kept clear of weeds by the hoe and hand cultivator. 



HOr-BEDS. The hot-bed is made by forming a pile of horse mauure with the straw used for bedding or 

 leaves, some three feet in height, and about 12 or 18 inches larger all around than the size of the frame to be 

 used. Shake all together, so that the straw and manure will be equally m-xed. It may be sunk in the ground a 

 foot or eighteen incites, or made on the surface. Place the frame on soon as the bed is made, and flU in with 

 about 5 or 6 inches of good me low soil, keeping the frame closed for a few days until fermentation takes place 

 and the soil is quite warm. It is better to wait a day or two after this and then sow the seeds. The frame can be 

 constructed by any handy man at very small expense. It consists of a wooden frame, from 3 to G feet wide, and 

 from 6 to 16 feet long, according to the supply of vegetables or flowers required. The back side should be at 

 least 6 inches higher than the front— the frame sub-divided by cross-bars aud each division covered by a glazed 

 sash. The frame should face the South or Southeast. From the time the seed is sown, attention to airing and 

 shading during the hot part of the day, and covering up at night, is essential, and also that the soil be never 

 allowed to get dry. The watering should be done with a very fine rose watering pot, aud w.th tepid water. The 

 temperature at night may range from 53 to 65 dogrees, and daring the day from 70 to 60. 



COLD FRAME. A cold //awie is so easy in construction and management as to be available to all. This 

 is simply a hot-bed frame with glazed sash, placed upon n bed of fine mellow earth, in some sheltered place in the 

 garden. After the frame is secured in its place, a couple of inches of fine earth should be placed inside, and the 

 frame closed up a Cay or two before the seeds are planted. As the cold frame depends upon the sun for ita 

 warmth, it must be started as soon as the hot-bed, and in this latitude the latter part of April is soon eiough. 

 Watering occasionally will be necessary, aud air must be given in bright warm days. Shade is also necessary. 



THINNING is a very important c>peration. Everything ought to be (binned very early, even in seed leaf, 

 if the plauts stand toj clo.<e. Auother tuinniug may be necessary when they are more ad.anccd, to give them 

 rooui to grow stalky. All plants, when crowded together, run up tall aud slender, and never succeed well. 



TRANSPLANTING. In transplanting, the main points to be regarded are, care in taking up the plants so 

 as to avoid injury to the roots, planting flimly so as to enable the plant to take a secure hold of the soil, reducing 

 the top to prevent evaporation, and shadiug to prevent the sun from withering and blighting the leaves. In 

 transplanting from a hot-bed, harden the plants by letting them pet quite dry a day or two before, but give an 

 abundance of water every ./fty before they are taken out. It is most apt to be successful if done just at 

 evening, or immediately befor or during the first part of a rain, about the worst time being just after a rain, 

 """"D the ground being wet it is impossible to sufliciently press it about the plant without its baking hard. If 

 ' ' ft al', it should be used freely and the wet surface immediately covered with dry soil. 



