A FEW WORDS ABOUT RAISING PLANTS 
FROM SEED. 
Success with plants from seed is largely a 
matter of applying common sense, a careful study 
of nature and of the needs of the plants. It 
would be useless to expect the seeds of acid lov¬ 
ing plants to germinate and thrive in a soil that 
contains lime in its composition or to hope for 
lime lovers to do well in humus soil that is 
devoid of the element that is essential to them. 
Fortunately the great majority of plants is 
quite tolerant in this respect, the choicest of our 
gems, however, are quite particular. 
Another point that must be considered is the 
texture of the soil in which to sow jk>ur seeds. 
It should not be so sticky and claylike to cripple 
the young seedling when pushing thru, if push 
thru it can at all, nor so sandy and light as to 
dry out easily at a time when the seed needs 
sufficient moisture to germinate. A third factor 
is light,—enough but not too much. The question 
is how can we adjust all this. 
My experience has been that a simple cold 
frame and individual pots or seed pans are the 
best where a great many varieties are to be 
raised in small quantities of each kind. Seeds 
do not all germinate at the same time and it is 
a great convenience to be able to take out the 
pot with seedlings big enough to be transplanted 
while the seeds in another pot are still fast 
asleep. Four inch pots will be just about right 
for the amateur gardner, they are about 4V 2 in 
outside diameter, and by allowing 5 inches each 
way and multiplying by the number of varieties 
to be raised, the dimensions of the frame can 
easily be calculated. A little frame 15 x 20 inches 
inside measure will hold a Dozen pots, while the 
regulation 3x6 foot frame will conveniently 
hold 72 pots. The frame should be tight and pre¬ 
ferably made of cypress and painted. Small 
frames need only a pane of glass for a 
cover, larger ones a regular sash. If the 
frames can be placed under a tree giving 
light shade and allow the sun to shine into 
f the frame during the earliest morning hours no 
further provision for shade need be made, other¬ 
wise a screen should be constructed from com¬ 
mon builders lath, spacing the strips of lath their 
own width apart. This screen is placed on top 
of the sash when the sun shines brightly but is 
removed on dull days. The soil in the frame is 
dug out to a depth of 18 inches reckoned from 
the top edge, the bottom well loosened and cov¬ 
ered with a six inch layer of cinders or fairly 
coarse gravel. On this is placed a two inch layer 
of granulated Peat moss or chopped sphagnum 
moss and on top of this six inches of sifted soil 
made fairly light with a little sand and prefer¬ 
ably mixed with about one-third of its bulk of 
sifted peat moss. All these materials should be 
moist but not wet. Into the top layer we sink 
the pots after they have been planted, by using 
a trowel and pushing the pot down until it is 
about one-half inch from the surface of the soil. 
This precaution keeps the pots cool and moist 
but assures perfect drainage. 
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