26 
A KITCHEN GARDEN 
sift the dirt through a coal sieve, as it then makes a 
fine bed for the seeds and young plants. 
Place the sashes on as soon as this is done; hand¬ 
ling the manure and repacking it will produce some 
fresh heat and it will still be too warm to sow any 
seed, but the heat will destroy such weed seeds as may 
be in the soil, and the steam and gases arising from 
the manure will tend to put the soil in the finest 
possible condition for forwarding the growth of the 
young plants. A thermometer should be placed in 
the soil of the bed every day or two, to see if the 
temperature has fallen sufficiently to admit of sow¬ 
ing the seeds. As soon as the temperature has fallen 
to about 75° ; or, if no thermometer is at hand, as 
soon as the top sod is only perceptibly w x arm to the 
palm of the hand, the bed should be sprinkled, and 
as soon as this has dried off a little, rake it up thor¬ 
oughly and sow the seed. The seed will produce 
finer and stockier plants if sown in drills about six 
inches apart, which will admit light and air to the 
roots of the plants, and will permit a weekly hoeing. 
In planting seeds, the depth of their covering should 
be about five times the diameter of the seed, and 
this covering should be firmly packed around them 
after planting. The starting and planting of these 
beds must be calculated, so as to have the plants 
ready to set out as soon as the garden can be worked. 
In this vicinity (Philadelphia) the first sowing of 
cauliflowers, lettuce, beets and early cabbage should 
be made about February 15th, or even earlier, 
depending on the forwardness of the season or of 
