THE YOUNG SCIENTIST. 
153 
of design with gum-arabic solution ; let it 
dry thoroughly, and then proceed to 
paint as described above."' 
Floriculture for Girls .— II. 
HILE you wait for 
May weather — 
weather betittuig 
the May of the poets, when the ground 
shall get moist and mellow, the grass 
green, and the winds warm, and garden- 
ing shall seem an inviting pastime— what 
can you do in preparation for its coming ? 
I think you will find it a pleasant experi- 
ment to try starting some seeds (say 
browallia, pansy, verbena, mignonette, 
and aster seeds) in the house, in the hope 
of obtaining early blossoms. 
Take, then, a shallow box, and put in it 
an inch or so of drainage (broken flower- ! 
pots make the best) ; then fill with good 
soil crumbled finely as possible; get a 
piece of lath or other flat stick, and with 
the edge of it marJi little trenches for 
your seed, scatter in rather thinly, and 
draw the earth over, pressing with the 
flat side of the lath afterwards to firm the 
surface ; be sure and label each row, so 
that you can identify them when they 
come up ; water lightly, and set in a sunny 
window in a temperature not lower than 
sixty degrees. 
When the seedlings have formed their 
second leaves, thin out, and plant those 
you remove in a box like the first. This 
thinning out requires great care. The 
roots of the plants not moved must be 
disturbed as little as i)ossible, and those 
taken out must not be left with roots ex- 
posed longer than can be helped, and 
must be handled very gently when re- 
planted. "When you press the soil round 
them take care not to pinch the little 
stems, or you may unwittingly destroy 
half your young family, and wonder, 
when you presently see them withering, 
what has happened to them. After trans- 
planting, shade from the sun for a day or 
two until they seem to be growing again. 
By the middle of May it will be safe to 
plant seeds in the garden, and if you have 
saved half your seeds for out-of-door sow- 
ing, it will interest you to see how, under 
the influence of the warm spring sun, 
they seem trying to catch up with their 
earlier- planted associates. 
Now equip yourselves for work " in the 
garden," and to that end procure a hoe, a 
rake, a trowel, some pointed sticks, and a 
watering-pot. If all of you had big rub- 
ber aprons which reached below your 
knees, and on which you could kneel 
when necessary, it would be a useful ad- 
dition to your outfit. 
The field is before you. It may be a 
back yard in the city, or a lovely garden 
in the suburbs, or a margin of the vege- 
table garden allowed you, in the country. 
Whatever it is, I hope the soil has been 
well dug, and hoed, and laid open to the 
sun, and that you have assisted at the 
operation. Now you may have house- 
plants to bed out, and seedlings to set 
out, and seeds to sow, and the questions 
arise. Which ? and Where ? In this the 
taste of the plants must be consulted as 
far as your circumstances will allow, for 
one calls for sun, and another for shade, 
and a third for moisture, and will not be 
denied without sulking. Using, then, 
your best discretion in placing them, you 
proceed first to set out your house-plants. 
They have been watered well over night, 
and all straggling branches and weakly 
shoots have been cut off (by a slanting 
cut with a sharp knife). Holding a pot 
upside down, with the stem of the plant 
between your fingers, tap it sharply and 
lightly against a wall, or with the handle 
of your trowel, so that the soil is loosened 
from the sides, and draw off tlie pot with 
your other hand. Do not crumble off the 
earth from the roots, unless it is mouldy. 
Set the plant in a hole dug for it, and 
settle the earth firmly round it with your 
hands ; then rake the bed thoroughly and 
water, and leave to summer's care until 
the usurping weeds appear and you are 
summoned "to the rescue." Always keep 
your beds well weeded ; you will take 
twice the pleasure in them that you could 
possibly get from half-raked, slovenly- 
looking borders. 
With your seedlings be careful. Lift 
them from their box, with plenty of soil 
