HOUSE AND GARDEN 
47 
I April, i q i 
several days in the wind and sun, raked 
over with a hand rake, the lightest touch 
of which would make a furrow four times 
too deep for them, and then abandoned 
to the mercy of beating suns and rains, 
and a struggle, if they have been sown 
broadcast, with weeds. Instead of taking 
this hit-or-miss course, why not nail or 
screw a 6 ft. long piece of scantling, 
2x4" or any old size, about 18" above the 
sill, in a sheltered spot on the south side of 
the house, and set a 6' board 6" or more 
wide, up edgewise, parallel to it, about 
2^/2 ft. out. Get two ten-foot pieces of 
I X 2" pine (this is all you will have to 
buy) and make a 6x4 foot frame. Tack 
over this an old sheet or any piece of light 
cloth. This will serve as a protection 
against beating rain, too hot sun, and late 
cold nights, and with a carefully prepared 
seedbed of light soil, practically assure 
the success of your flower seed plantings. 
It would be, perhaps, two hours’ work. 
Don’t you think it would be worth while? 
In the rose garden, take your pruning 
shears, grit your teeth, and cut them 
down. It may seem to you that you are 
ruining your bushes, but where you have 
hybrid teas to deal with — and they are 
far and away the best garden rose — the 
best blossoms can be had only by what, to 
the beginner, would seem very severe 
pruning. Leave not more than four to 
eight eyes on a cane, and always cut 
above an outside eye, so that the bush 
may develop in open form. 
The teas will not need such close prun¬ 
ing. Do not cut them until growth starts. 
The climbers are best pruned soon after 
the flowering season. 
This month is the best time of the 
year, in the northern state, for planting 
roses. For the details, see the rose arti¬ 
cle in the March House & Garden. 
While you are at the cutting business, 
and after picking all the rose thorns out 
of your fingers, go over the shrubs—that 
is, such as flower on this season’s growth. 
Those which flower on growth made last 
year should, of course, be left until after 
they bloom. Aim to keep the bushes open 
and spreading, and symmetrical in out¬ 
line, and as far as possible cut out the old 
growth to make room for the newer. 
In the Fruit Garden 
■^T OW is the time to make new plant- 
ings of small fruits and berries, 
and of nursery stock — fruits and shrubs. 
The earlier it can be done the better, for 
practically all these things will stand late 
frosts, but are set back by being moved 
after they have “started.” 
Pointers on Sowing 
TVTOISTURE, warmth and air are the 
three things necessary to make live 
seeds sprout and begin to grow : and these 
(with light above the soil surface) must 
all be supplied if success is to crown one’s 
efforts. 
By selecting or by making a sheltered 
place, the matter of warmth is, if not 
controlled, at least utilized to the greatest 
advantage, so that early sowings and 
plantings may be carried out at least a 
week sooner than otherwise. If a spot 
cannot be found that is protected from 
northwest winds by buildings or a wall, 
then a hedge of privet, or of some thick¬ 
growing, closely planted evergreens, or, 
for the vegetable garden, even a plain 
board fence, may be put in as a shelter, 
that will pay for itself several times over 
in a few years. 
Air is one of the most important factors 
in turning “raw” plant food into forms 
that the plant can eat. Cultivation — the 
breaking up, stirring about, pulverizing 
and aeration of the soil — is essential to 
the growth of plants, especially in their 
early stages. 
Except in the very driest of seasons 
there should be moisture enough in the 
soil to germinate and successfully start 
into growth any seeds planted before the 
middle of June or first of July, without 
artificial aid. That is, provided the moist¬ 
ure in the soil has been saved there by 
proper treatment of the soil, or rather the 
soil surface. Every time a crust is al¬ 
lowed to form, moisture begins to escape 
from the soil; hence the necessity of going- 
over all exposed surfaces in both the 
flower and vegetable garden frequently 
enough to keep the surface fine, dusty 
and dry. 
In the sowing of vegetables, "drills” re¬ 
fers to the method of growing the plants 
in continuous rows, the plants being only 
far enough apart to make room for each 
other. Carrots and beets are grown in 
this way. In rows they are usually spaced 
at even distances, so that the soil can be 
worked between them with a hoe or by 
hand, while the space between the rows 
can be cultivated with a horse-hoe or 
wheel-hoe — the way in which cabbage or 
peppers are planted. 
Hills are put three to eight feet apart 
each way, and us¬ 
ually several 
plants grown in 
each hill, as with 
corn or cucumbers. 
One advantage of 
the hill system, es¬ 
pecially in gardens 
that are not very 
rich, is that they 
may easily be giv¬ 
en special prepara¬ 
tion in the way of 
drainage, digging 
and fertilizing, thus 
encouraging a rap- 
i d and luxurant 
growth. 
To fix hills in 
this way, dig them 
out a foot to two 
feet square and 
several inches deep. 
Spade into the bot¬ 
tom of the hole a 
This is a good style of pruning shears that 
should be in constant use at this season 
forkful or two of rotten manure, or a 
handful of cotton-seed meal and bone-dust 
or both. Be sure that the manure or fer¬ 
tilizer is well mixed with the soil. Then 
refill the hill with the fine loose earth dug 
out, and make it flat and level. If the soil 
is damp, or in a low place, make the hill 
slightly higher than the surounding sur¬ 
face. When sowing the seeds or setting 
the plants, be sure that no manure or fer¬ 
tilizer comes in direct contact with them, 
or they may be so burned as to be ruined. 
In flower planting the terminology is a 
little different. Instead of hills, drills and 
(Continued on page 66.) 
To center posts are affixed sloping laths fastened with wires for an 
excellent support for tomato vines 
