Ill 
SPUING WORK 
77 
Sweet-peas often have to be treated like this, or 
they would be eaten up. Birds too are mis¬ 
chievous, and will sometimes gobble up the 
seeds as fast as they are planted. Little bits 
of stick put upright in the ground, and some 
cotton fastened from stick to stick, with pieces 
of paper tied on in places, to form a network 
above the patches of seed, will scare all but the 
very boldest bird away. 
When you buy seed packets, even penny 
ones, a few directions are generally printed on 
them, and you cannot do better than follow the 
advice given. It frequently says to sow on a 
“ hot-bed,” or in pans or boxes, in February or 
March, but out of doors in April, the reason 
naturally being that the cold weather might 
come and hurt your young seedlings. Several 
things are certainly best in boxes, such as 
stocks, asters, Phlox Drummondi , Indian pinks, 
or zinnias ; but if you cannot manage the shelter 
for the boxes, you can get on quite well with¬ 
out, as Nemophila, scarlet flax, convolvulus, sun¬ 
flowers, marigolds, nasturtiums, corn - cockles, 
poppies, and many other things, will all do just 
as well out of doors. 
I was very fortunate in having a very 
small glass frame given me when I was quite 
a little girl, and it was a great delight to me. 
It was put on the grass by my garden, on a 
