HOUSE AND GARDEN 
March, 1912 
get broken, cut them off clean. Loosen 
the' soil up thoroughly in the hole in which 
you are to plant it, and set it deeper, by 
several inches, than it was in the woods, 
where the roots probably have spread out 
shallow near the leaf covered surface. 
Plant it securely, using your feet to pack 
the earth firmly about the roots, and put 
a mulch of old leaves, grass or litter about, 
to help keep the soil moist when the dry 
times come. 
There are also plenty of ferns, and other 
plants, such as the wild rose — and in crys¬ 
talline beauty it has never been surpassed 
by the hybridizer’s products — the wild 
woodbine, wood violets and many of the 
other wild things that your fancy may 
select, which stand transplanting well. 
Always try to give them a place as nearly 
like that they are accustomed to as you 
can—the ferns, for instance, on the north 
side of the veranda, or wild roses in par¬ 
tial shade where the soil is somewhat 
heavy. 
It is not yet too late to make a cold- 
frame. Don’t say you can’t get the ma¬ 
terial — look at the photograph herewith: 
the material came from a couple of old 
packing boxes! And a couple of big 
storm windows, or any old windows for 
that matter, will keep out cold and let sun¬ 
shine in, as well as will any “boughten” 
sash. Such a frame can be made right on 
top of the ground, and if you use flats, 
will not even necessitate taking the sod 
off. Although it is too late to start cab¬ 
bage, lettuce, cauliflower, etc., for the ear- 
liest outside crop, there are plenty of uses 
for the coldframe. You can plant melons, 
cucumbers, corn, potatoes (in flats of 
sand) weeks sooner than you can out of 
doors, and thus beat your neighbors on 
these important things. 
x'^nd there are your annuals and first- 
season-blooming perennials to be thought 
of. One of the most beautiful annuals we 
have, cosmos, is killed by the first fall 
frosts nine times out of ten before attain¬ 
ing anywhere near the growth of its 
glory, simply because it has not time to 
mature. The moonflower is another too 
little seen plant, for the reason that when¬ 
ever out-of-doors the season is just too 
short for it in our northern States. The 
new “ever-blooming annual,” hollyhocks, 
you should also try. They grow easily 
from seed, and sown in March will bloom 
in July. To lovers of these old-fashioned 
plants, which in many sections the holly¬ 
hock “rust” disease has practically de¬ 
stroyed, they are a find indeed. Then 
there are many perennials from which, if 
sown early, you will get flowers this year: 
gaillardias, Iceland poppies, larkspur 
(Chinese), Shasta daisy, etc. 
Most flower seed is very small — some of 
it as fine as pepper — and to attain success 
you must make a fine loose soil, by sifting 
leaf mold or chip dirt and fine sand to mix 
with your garden loam — about equal parts 
of the mold and loam, and sand enough 
to make it friable, so that it cannot be 
pressed into a ball in the hand. Wet the 
soil thoroughly several hours before sow¬ 
ing the seed—taking care that the seed- 
pan, flat, or pot is well drained—and then 
dust it over the surface evenly and barely 
cover, except for the larger seeds such as 
hardy pinks, gaillardias, etc. Even these 
should be covered only about an eighth of 
an inch. Keep panes of glass, slightly 
tilted on one side, over the boxes until the 
seeds are up. 
For the best results with the wonderful 
new sweet peas, they should be started 
early in pots, and set out, planting deeji in 
thoroughly enriched soil. The develop¬ 
ment of the sweet pea during the last few 
years has been very wonderful, the flowers 
being so immense as to be almost beyond 
belief to the person, used only to the old, 
smaller flowered sorts, who sees them for 
the first time. If you try some of these 
splendid new kinds—and get the named 
varieties for best results—put them, if 
possible, where they can be thoroughly 
watered during the summer dry spells. 
Another little plant you should not over¬ 
look is kochia—the summer cypress or 
burning bush. It grows as easily as a 
weed, and with a dozen or two nicely 
started by May, you can decorate any un¬ 
sightly corner, or make a temporary hedge 
by the garden or along the path. They are 
an attractive green during the summer, 
and turn to a bright burning red with the 
advent of cold weather. 
Another very popular flower for spring 
planting is the pansy—also greatly im¬ 
proved during recent years. Go to a flor¬ 
ist’s for your supply if you can, no matter 
how tempting the street baskets of gor¬ 
geous blooms may look. Their plants are 
raised to sell, while you want plants to 
grow, and if you can find some one-fourth 
the size of these—four or five of which 
will fill a basket—that are just beginning 
39 
to blossom, that is what you want. The 
big forced plants go by very quickly after 
you have set them out. 
In the Vegetable Garden 
F March goes out like a lamb you may 
get some planting done this month, 
though in my locality (northern Connecti¬ 
cut) we very seldom get anything out, 
with now and then the exception of onions 
and early peas, before April. But be ready 
to get the ground turned over just the 
minute it is dry enough — as much for the 
importance of getting the early work done 
and out of the way as that of planting the 
hardy seeds early. Even before the 
ground thaws, if it was not cleaned up 
last fall, you should see that all rubbish is 
gathered and burned or composted. 
Have all such little accessories as gar¬ 
den line, plant stakes, labels, sharp tools, 
seeds, etc., ready in advance, for in un¬ 
certain spring weather, a little delay that 
may make you late in getting a certain 
sort of seed planted one day, may easily 
mean that they don’t get planted for a 
week—-and it’s not a pleasant experience 
to look over the fence and see your neigh¬ 
bor’s beans sending out their second pairs 
of leaves, while yours are not yet out of 
the ground. 
To those who plant their own potatoes 
—and it is surprising how many you can 
get out of a few short rows in a rich gar¬ 
den—numerous State Experiment Station 
trials have shown repeatedly that sprout¬ 
ing them in full light, twenty to thirty 
days before planting has not only made 
maturity earlier, but has increased the 
total yield in many instances over a fifth, 
and in some much more than that. When 
you are planting by hand, these short, 
stubby sprouts do not interfere at all. 
A coldframe does not need to be expensive in order to serve its purpose. The sides of this one 
were made from old packing boxes 
