for corn planting, cannot be furnished at 
so great a depth from the surface. Again, 
•corn planted at a depth of two or three 
inches will not make as rapid or healthy 
growth as when covered only half an inch; 
for this reason corn makes two sets of 
roots—surface and underground—the one 
being quite as important as the other. The 
surface roots form just above or at the first 
Joint of the plant, which is just above the 
kernel. If corn is planted three inches in 
depth, as soon as it has used up the food 
that is stored in the kernel, growth ceases 
until a new and unnatural joint is formed 
at the surface, from which these aerial roots 
proceed. When corn is planted in mellow 
ground the hoe should never be used, the 
feet alone being the best implement that 
can be used for the purpose. When the 
• corn is dropped, with the foot scrape suf¬ 
ficient soil over it to cover to the depth of 
half an inch, then step on the hill in such 
.a manner that it will get the w hole weight 
of the body, and if the planter weighs 250 
pounds the work will be the better done. 
This same rule will apply to the planting 
of most other seeds. Proper care in plant¬ 
ing, and the too common practice of bury¬ 
ing seeds, is just the difference between 
success and failure in thei germination and 
growth. 
Mechanical assistance is also of the great¬ 
est importance in the planting of many 
kinds of seeds, particularly those of the 
vine family, in testing the seeds of the 
Boston Marrow squash, we planted six in 
the usual manner, and but three came up; 
by their side we planted the same number¬ 
placing them edgewise, these all came up; 
again we placed the same number upright, 
with the germ down; these also came up, 
and in much less time than either of the 
other tests. From the experiments made, 
we are fully convinced that it is great 
economy to plant all vine seeds in the man¬ 
ner last stated; the difference in the time 
and labor required in doing the work will 
be doubly compensated in the success at¬ 
tained. 
We always plant Lima beans by placing 
them edgewise, and never have a failure in 
i their coming up and growing vigorously. 
iLast year we sowed a large quantity of, 
hybrid Amaryllis seed, not one of which 
showed any signs of life or growth. We 
have this season repeated the operation, but 
in a different manner, treating them as 
follows: We prepared three boxes of soil 
in precisely the same manner. In two of 
them we placed the seed in regular rows, 
placing them edgewise, leaving the edge- 
of the seed barely covered; in the other box 
we scattered the seeds in the usual manner, 
covering them about one-half inch in depth 
with the same soil from which the boxes 
were filled. The result was that in the 
two boxes where the seeds were on the 
edge nearly every seed germinated, and 
the young plants were making rapid growth, 
while those in the other box are entirely 
lost; but a single seed germinated. 
This experiment shows the importance 
of well-directed labor in this direction, as 
in this case where the seed sown was all 
from the same plant, sown the same day, 
in the same soil and the boxes were placed 
side by side in our propagating house. 
The other day a pompous little fellow at 
the dinner table was boasting of the great 
men with whom he was on intimate terms. 
He was in constant correspondence with 
Bret Harte, had lunched with Tennyson, 
was on friendly relations with the Prince 
of Wales, and in short, knew everybody. 
» 
At length a quiet individual at the other 
end of the room broke in on the conversa¬ 
tion with the question: “My dear sir. did 
you ever happen to know the Siamese 
twins when they were in this country?” 
Our hero, who evidently had a talent for 
lying, but no real genius, at once replied: 
“The Siamese twins, sir ? Yes, sir, I became 
very intimate with one of them, but I 
never had the good fortune to meet the 
other.” 
I played a good joke on my wife last 
night,” said Tweezers, who is not kept out 
of jail on account of his brightness. “What 
was it?” “I had our coachman stand in the 
dark hall and kiss her, so she’d think it 
was me.” “What did she do ?” “Nothing. 
She only came into the parlor where I was 
sitting, and said: ‘Why Tweezers, I didn’t 
know you had got home.’ ” 
