18 
THE FIRST PLANTING 
the easiest work of all. We first passed the top 
soil through a sieve, In order that It might be fine 
and free from lum.ps. Then with a pointed stick 
we made little furrows, dropped in the seeds, and 
drew the soil over them, patting It down evenly 
with a ruler. The furrows for the baby’s breath, 
which we planted In a box by itself, were about an 
eighth of an inch deep, and those for the ten-weeks 
stocks which filled the second box were made a full 
quarter of an Inch In depth. Mrs. Keith, who 
seems to know as much as Timothy about planting 
seeds, told Joseph that such matters as these were 
most Important. The very small seeds of the car- 
dinal-flowers In the third box were simply sprinkled 
over the surface of the soil and then pressed down 
lightly. 
It was most fascinating to handle these little 
seeds, which looked as though they had no life at 
all In them; and to know that they will certainly 
turn Into real flowers. When Joseph gave them 
water, I felt that their thirst was being quenched 
and that they would begin at once to soften and 
grow. Of course Joseph could have wet them with 
the rose sprayer, but thought It safer to submerge 
the boxes in a large tub of water, since the small 
seeds, especially those of the cardinal-flowers, were 
not so likely to become dislodged. 
The seeds that we did not use In the boxes Little 
Joseph put carefully away In their packages. Later 
on they might be sown out-of-doors. Mrs. Keith 
