92 
GARDENS AND THEIR MEANING 
ground. It is safest, on the whole, to allow ample room. Give 
rein to the imagination, remembering that, if all goes well, one 
wee, shriveled seed will make an opulent tomato plant. 
Suppose that the drills have been of the required depth, 
that the seeds have been scattered or laid within at the proper 
distance, that the soil has been raked, over the seeds without 
disturbing them and has been made firm by pressure ; the 
next move is to pack them in tight. Accordingly tread, yes, 
stamp them down, or press them with a board. In case the 
earth is too dry at the time of sowing, it is a good scheme to 
fill the furrow with water, then lay in the seeds, crumbling 
over them some damp earth. Finally, pack them down as 
already directed, and make it a rule always to scatter along 
the surface of the row a layer of loose, dry earth. Do not 
leave the spot without marking it clearly with a wooden 
or a metal label telling the name of the seed and other data. 
This is more important than one might guess. The habit of 
careful labeling prevents many an awkward mistake, and it 
makes a garden far more interesting. 
All the planting, of course, will not be done in the open. 
Many sorts of plants can be started under cover, anticipating 
the season by a month or more, and at the right time they 
can be set outdoors. Everything that can possibly masquer- 
ade as a window box or pot will now be pressed into service. 
Tin cans and cigar boxes suddenly rise in value. Whether 
indoors or out, the use of various sorts of glass covers to 
prevent rapid evaporation will be found indispensable. 
Some of this preliminary planting, besides, is often done by 
young people just by way of experiment ; they want to try new 
ways of testing seeds, of growing them at different depths, and 
of starting them in different materials. Some attention will 
unquestionably be given to preparing a little nursery of seed- 
lings for transplanting. Indeed, one can seldom have too 
