76 
HOUSE & GARDEN 
Bobbink & Atkins 
Nurserymen - b lonsts - Planters 
ROSES 
SHADE. TREES 
FLOWERING SHRUBS 
HARDY OLD-FASHIONED FLOWERS 
RHODODENDRONS 
EVERGREENS 
FRUIT TREES 
and 150 otFier specialties 
300 acres of Nursery—500.000 feet under glass. 
We plan and Plant Grounds and Gardens everywhere. 
Visit our Nursery, only 8 miles from New York or write for out 
illustrated Catalogue No. 40 
Rutherford. 
New Jersey 
iu serj 
•oducts 
The Cardinal Climber 
Whoever first beholds this lovely Vine stands 
fascinated by its Brilliancy and Grace, 
ITS LIFE AND BEAUT,Y 
To begin, a small black 
seed: Sow NOW in the 
house: by April strong 
plants to be set out after 
Frosts are over. 15 to 
20 ft. high during the 
summer till fall. 
FOLIAGE—Glossy bright 
green, fernlike, enchanting. 
FLOWERS—In rich masses 
like miniature Morning 
Glories. 
COLOR — A dazzling, fiery, 
cardinal scarlet. 
For rustic posts, arbors, old 
trees, a dress of flaming gor¬ 
geousness. 
COST small, results GREAT. 
5 seeds .10 cents 
10 seeds .15 cents 
20 seeds .25 cents 
DO YOU LOVE YOUR GARDEN? 
Do not deprive it of this “ Beauty’s” crown. 
Order early. This seed is always scarce as it forms few 
seed pods. Other attractive Flowers are described in 
our 1916 Garden Book. Send for it. A postal brings 
it to you. 
H. H. BERGER & COMPANY 
70 Warren Street New York 
(Established 1877 ) 
Starting the Garden Indoors 
(Continued from page 19) 
the moisture content of the air up to 
normal. There are but two rules you 
need to keep in mind about ventila¬ 
tion: the more fresh air the better 
as long as the plants do not get too 
cold; avoid direct draughts on the 
plants and sudden changes of tem¬ 
perature. 
Soil Requirements 
The soil in which the seeds are 
started should be loose and gritty 
enough to let any surplus water that 
is in it pass through readily, so that 
it never gets wet. It should be light 
and “spongy” enough to retain all the 
water possible without becoming wet; 
and it should be so light and friable 
that the little seedlings, once they 
have sprouted, can push up through 
it readily. 
When to Sow 
“Time” is a double barrelled item; 
it refers both to when the seeds 
should be sown, and whether you will 
be able to take care of them properly 
or not. To do the latter will not 
take a great deal of time daily, but it 
must be given every day; regularity 
is of the greatest importance. In re¬ 
gard to the former, or when to sow 
the various seeds, grouping may be 
as follows: February 15th—March 
15th ; beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, 
cabbage, cauliflower, celery, lettuce, 
and onions. March 1st—April 1st: 
corn, cucumbers, egg-plant, melons, 
okra, pepper, squash and tomato 
(corn and the vine crops are usually 
started in individual paper pots or in 
dirt bands) ; of flowers, the hardier 
or earlier things such as pansies, 
daisies, asters, marigolds, zinnias, 
and early flowering perennials which 
are wanted to flower the first season 
can be started with the earlier vege¬ 
tables, and the tenderer things such 
as begonias, cannas (started from 
seed), salvias, cosmos, coleus and so 
forth, started later with the later 
vegetables. 
Use only the best seed which you 
can possibly procure; a single small 
packet will be enough for most of the 
things which you want to start, and 
will furnish all the plants required. 
Do not, therefore, waste time with 
old seed of which you are a little un¬ 
certain, or by buying seed which may 
have been in stock for the last four 
years in some local grocery or hard¬ 
ware store. 
The soil to be used is extremely im¬ 
portant. If you have none available, 
the quickest way and probably the 
cheapest in the end will be to buy a 
bushel or so from some greenhouse. 
If you have to prepare your own, 
mix your richest and lightest garden 
soil, sifted leaf mould from the 
woods, and enough medium coarse 
sand so that the whole cannot be 
squeezed in the hands into a lump 
that will not fall apart when released. 
Old compost that has been in a hot¬ 
bed that is thoroughly spent and 
which is free from fungus or weed 
seeds makes good soil in which to 
plant. “Cocoanut fibre,” or commer¬ 
cial humus mixed with garden soil 
will give a combination of the right 
kind. But do not plant until you do 
get your right soil, even if it involves 
several days’ delay. 
In addition to these soil ingredients 
get some sphagnum moss, the fluffy 
screenings from leaf mould, or ex¬ 
celsior (although the latter is not so 
good) to put in the bottom of your 
seed flats and pans to ensure perfect 
drainage. The soil should be sup¬ 
ported by this strata of porous stuff 
so that the surplus water can imme¬ 
diately drain off. Get also a number 
of panes of glass sufficiently large 
so that one or two of them will cover 
a flat. 
Having the various things which 
you will require ready, work can be 
begun at once. First, prepare your 
flats and seed pans by putting in a 
layer of drainage material and over 
this enough of the prepared sifted 
soil to come within /" or so of the 
top after it is lightly firmed down and 
made perfectly level and smooth. Be 
careful to get the soil well packed in 
at the corners and the edges. Mark 
off the rows for the seeds 2" to 3" 
apart, according to their size and the 
space you have. These little drills 
should be very shallow, just enough 
to be perceptible. A pencil point is 
as good as anything to make them 
with, and a ruler will enable you to 
get the rows straight across the flat 
and parallel. Scatter the seeds thinly 
to 1" apart, but just as even as 
you can get them. Don’t put in the 
entire contents of a package just to 
use it up; if the plants are too thick 
they will be poor from the very 
start; and besides, if your first plant¬ 
ing does not come up it is well to 
keep some in reserve. 
Covering Young Plants 
After the seeds are sown, press 
them into the soil very lightly with 
the edge of the ruler or something 
similar, before covering; they should 
not be pushed down into the soil, but 
merely pressed level with it. They 
should then be covered very lightly 
and the whole surface pressed down. 
The covering should not be much 
more than for the larger vege¬ 
table seeds such as cabbage, cauli¬ 
flower and beets, and 1/16" for let¬ 
tuce, celery and small flower seeds; 
while very fine flower seeds, such as 
begonias, should be barely pressed 
into the soil with shreds of leaf 
mould or soil moss put over them to 
shade them slightly from the light 
until they are up. 
Celery and parsley seeds which are 
rather slow to mature will come up 
better if soaked for a day or two in 
luke warm water before planting. 
Hard shelled seeds, such as some of 
the sweet peas and cannas, are better 
if they are slightly notched with a 
knife or file before planting. 
Care of Flats 
The soil should be fairly moist be¬ 
fore the seed is sown. After sowing, 
water lightly with a fine spray, being 
careful not to pack the soil or wash 
it away. It is better still partly to im¬ 
merse the newly planted flat or seed 
pan in a sink or tub and let it soak up 
water until the surface begins to get 
moist. This will thoroughly saturate 
the soil without permitting it to run 
off and without getting it wet about 
the seeds. The boxes will go for a 
long time thereafter without water¬ 
ing. 
The boxes of sand should then be 
covered with the glass, leaving a small 
crack at the end of each to allow the 
air to circulate. The purpose of this 
is to confine the moisture evaporating 
from the soil so that the surface will 
not quickly dry out. The boxes should 
then be put away to germinate, and, 
if possible, given bottom heat as al¬ 
ready described. 
