Conducted by The Editor will be glad to answer subscribers’ queries pertaining to individual problems connected with the 
F. F. Rockwell garden and grounds. When a direct personal reply is desired please enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. 
"JV/TARCH gets here before we are ex- 
pecting it, and usually is gone be¬ 
fore we have done half the things we had 
planned to do — and should have done. 
And then they never do get finished — for 
April is so crowded with work that will 
not wait, that there’s no chance to go 
back. We must wait until the seasons 
come round again, and lose a year. 
Preparing for Planting 
S far north as New York, March al¬ 
ways finds the “early” patches of 
ground, the well-subdrained, sandy soils 
on slopes, ready to be broken up for the 
spring sowing or planting. Nothing is to 
be gained by waiting, everything by having 
it done the first possible day, especially if 
you have to hire men to do your plough¬ 
ing or spading. And by the way, if there 
is room for a horse to turn around in it, 
have your garden plowed, not dug. Care 
must be taken not to attempt to work 
the ground too soon, as it may be in¬ 
jured for years, especially if at all clayey 
in composition. It is not enough that the 
frost is out of the ground—the soil must 
have dried out sufficiently to crumble 
apart, instead of packing in solid, pasty 
furrows from the mould-board of the 
plow. This condition is usually preceded 
by the soils cracking or opening up into 
numerous little fissures, a few inches deep, 
especially if it has had no winter cover 
crop — such as rye—growing upon it. 
Unless the soil is dry enough not to 
clog and be lumpy, it can be “fitted" for 
sowing immediately after plowing; if not. 
it will be well to let it lie for a day or two 
until the surface dries out a little. A 
great many of the failures in garden work 
are caused by not having the ground 
thoroughly prepared for sowing or plant¬ 
ing. It is such a temptation to get the 
seed into the ground just the moment it 
is smooth enough to walk on that we hate 
to spare half a day, or even a few hours, 
in putting on the seemingly unnecessary 
finishing touches to the garden bed. But 
to vield to this temptation is only to fur¬ 
nish another illustration of “haste makes 
wastefor not only will the growth made 
by seeds sown in soil perfectly prepared 
be much greater at first, but proportion¬ 
ately more at the end of the season. 
Let us then take every pains to have the 
plot devoted to the vegetable garden 
"fined” perfectly before we begin plant¬ 
ing. If the garden is of considerable size, 
it will be best not to plow it all at once, 
for in a dry season a freshly prepared 
seed-bed is of great importance. Where 
it is not practicable to make more than 
one job of the plowing, the same result 
can to some extent be achieved by work¬ 
ing up only a part of it at a time — just 
as much as will be needed for immediate 
use. A good harrow — the best kind for 
the purpose will be determined by the 
sort and condition of the soil — should fol¬ 
low the plow. The piece should be gone 
over until all lumps are broken up fine, 
When the seedlings.first appear they seem al¬ 
most human and their growth and develop¬ 
ment is intensely interesting 
and the earth pulverized to a depth of 
several inches below the surface. Do not 
let the harrow stop until the result is ob¬ 
tained, even if it means going over the 
piece a dozen times. The ground will 
then be ready for the hand iron-rake, used 
to level and smooth off the soil, and re¬ 
move stones, etc. Care must be exercised 
not to dig up trash or manure, or you can 
rake all day without getting a smooth 
bed. 
Fertilizer 
HE question of manures and fertili¬ 
zers is another most important one, 
but we cannot take it up in much detail in 
this limited space. If you are buying 
barnyard manure, see to it that it be 
neither “fire-fanged” or water-soaked. 
The former condition is shown by the in¬ 
terior of the heap being, usually, of a light 
gray color, and very light, dry and fluffy 
in appearance, almost like a heap of ashes; 
the latter, so saturated with water as to 
be dripping wet, and although rich in ap¬ 
pearance, usually leached and so full of 
surplus and useless weight as to be un¬ 
profitable to handle. The best manure for 
general purposes is that of horses and cat¬ 
tle mixed, and if pigs have run upon it, 
better still. It should be dark in color, 
dry and so thoroughly rotted as to crumble 
easily into small fragments. 
Brands of fertilizer are legion. As a 
rule, the higher the price per bag, the 
cheaper the actual available plant food. 
If you are going to use any quantity, bv 
all means mix your own. Public demand 
is now beginning to force dealers to carry 
the raw chemicals from which they are 
made — nitrate of soda, muriate and sul¬ 
phate of potash, acid phosphate, and 
ground bone being the principal ingredi¬ 
ents. These come finely pulverized, and 
may be readily mixed with a shovel and 
then screened to make the compound uni¬ 
form. Write your State Experiment Sta¬ 
tion for further information about “home¬ 
mixing.” For most garden crops, manure 
is spread upon the land before plowing— 
from two to three inches gives best results. 
Fertilizers are sown broadcast after plow¬ 
ing, and harrowed in. 
All the above is mentioned that you 
may be ready to grasp the first opportun- 
(i74) 
