Udendnll ScWditney 
'Portland PI nine 
Beautiful Flowers and 
Good Vegetables Result 
From These Conditions 
R ICH, sandy loam Is the best, although fair 
results may be obtained from any soli 
which may be made rich and friable. Results 
cannot be expected on barren sand, or hard 
clay soils, nor under trees. 
As a soil which does not need enriching Is 
seldom found, fertilizer of some sort is nec¬ 
essary. Well decomposed stable manure Is 
best, but if not available, sheep manure, 
poultry manure or wood ashee are of great 
benefit. If commercial fertilizer is used It 
may be applied at the rate of four to twelve 
pounds to the square rod, but must be thor¬ 
oughly pulverized and mixed with the soli. 
Good soli and sufficient fertilizer are not 
enough. The garden must be well plowed 
or spaded, using care, If the soil is a clay soil, 
that It is not too wet. When a handful of 
soil pressed Into a ball may be easily crumbled 
again the conditions are right. After being 
plowed, the surface should be harrowed, or 
raked as fine as possible, and kept so until 
the seeds are planted. 
With the soil prepared, the next thing Is 
good seed, for no matter how well everything 
has been done, without good seed the result 
will not be a success. Do not forget that 
every season much good seed is lost because 
of lack of care in planting. Remember that 
five things are necessary. 
FHtST: A proper and constant degree of 
moisture. The soil should always be moist, 
never wet. To secure this cover the seed 
as soon as it is planted with well pulverized, 
freshly prepared earth, pressing it firmly over 
the seed. This firming of the soil is very im¬ 
portant, as it brings the particles of earth 
into close contact with seeds and roots, 
prevents the drying out of the soil and facil¬ 
itates quick growth. The best results are 
obtained in small gardens by laying a board 
on the row and then walking upon the board, 
or the back of the hoe may be used; but for 
truck farms and field crops a roller is equally 
satisfactory. 
SECOND: A proper degree of heat, secured 
by sowing the seed when the temperature of 
the soil is most favorable to the germination 
of the seed of that particular plant. Too high 
a temperature is often as detrimental as one 
too low. The proper temperature for each 
sort may be learned from a careful study of 
the following pages and the experience of the 
most successful gardeners in your vicinity. 
THIRD: Covering the seed to such a depth 
that while a uniform degree of heat and 
moisture is preserved the necessary air can 
readily reach the germinating seed, and the 
tiny stem push the forming leaves into the 
light and air. This depth will vary with dif¬ 
ferent seeds and conditions of the soil and 
can be learned only from practical experience. 
In general, seeds of the size of the turnip 
should not be covered with more than half 
an inch of earth pressed down, while corn 
may be an inch, beans an inch to two inches 
and peas one to three inches deep. 
FOURTH: Such a condition of soil that the 
ascending stem can easily penetrate it and 
the young roots speedily find suitable food. 
We can usually secure this by thorough prep¬ 
aration of the ground and taking care never 
to sow fine seeds when the ground is wet. 
Occasionally a heavy or long continued rain, 
followed by a bright sun, will so bake and 
crust the surface that it is impossible for the 
young plant to find its way through it, or a 
few days of strong wind will so dry the sur¬ 
face that the young plants will be killed. 
In such cases the only remedy is to plant 
again. 
JUDICIOUS CULTIVATION: Not only 
should every weed be removed as soon as it 
appears, but the crust which forms after a 
rain should be broken up and the ground 
stirred as soon as it is dry enough to permit 
it. The more frequently and deeply the soil 
is stirred while the plants are young, the 
better; but as they develop and the roots 
occupy the ground, cultivation should be 
shallower until it becomes a mere stirring 
of the surface. The yield and quality of 
vegetables have often been decidedly lowered 
by injudiciously deep and close cultivation 
after the roots of the plants had fully occu¬ 
pied the ground. A very small garden, well 
cultivated and cared for, will give larger 
returns, in every way more satisfactory, than 
a much larger one poorly prepared and 
neglected. 
