AeM 
Cult ural Directions A&M 
Firm soil in flat with brick 
or block of wood. 
Fold burlap sack to fit top of flat 
after seeds have been sown. 
Use a sharp knife when trans¬ 
planting the seedlings. 
SOWING SEEDS IN THE OPEN GROUND 
Irrigate thoroughly, and after a few days spade, pulverize and rake 
level. 
Open a shallow furrow, sow the seeds, cover immediately and firm 
the soil to the seeds with the back of the rake. Level the surface by 
raking, leaving a loose mulch on top. Avoid sprinkling, for this would 
form a crust, which would exclude the air and make it very difficult 
for the tiny plants to break through the surface. The thorough irri¬ 
gation before spading should provide plentiful moisture to germinate 
the seeds without additional water being applied. If sowings are made 
when the weather is very warm it is a good plan to cover the rows 
with strips of burlap until the seeds sprout. After the plants are up, 
they may be sprinkled or irrigated, following each irrigation with sur¬ 
face cultivation to break the crust that may form. 
When the plants are sufficiently developed, thin to a distance be¬ 
tween plants that will give room for thosd remaining to develop well. 
The thinning process may continue for some time, removing each 
alternate plant at frequent intervals. Those plants removed from the 
row may be transplanted to other parts of the garden, if desired. In 
removing the plants, take sufficient soil with each one so as to dis¬ 
turb the roots as little as possible. 
SOWING SEEDS IN FLATS 
It is usually better to start small seeds in shallow boxes or flats. 
Be sure to see that the bottom of the flat provides good drainage. A 
flat is a box about 20 inches square and about 3 inches deep. Fill the 
flat to the top with a mixture composed of equal parts of peat moss, 
sand, and good garden loam, thoroughly moistened. Firm the soil in 
the flat with a brick or block of wood, leaving a smooth surface. 
Broadcast the seeds on the surface, pressing them lightly into the 
soil, and cover them with sand only. They should be covered to a 
depth of about two and a half to three times the breadth of the seed 
itself. Fold a burlap sack to fit on top of the soil after the seeds are 
sown and covered. The purpose of the burlap is to hold the soil and 
seed in place, to prevent washing and to retain the moisture; or 
instead of sprinkling flat may be placed in a shallow pan of water and 
moisture allowed to soak from the bottom to the surface. 
Place the flat in the shade during the summer months and in the 
sun during the winter months. Lift the burlap occasionally to see if 
the seeds are germinated and then at the first sign of germination, 
remove the burlap, then sprinkle lightly, keeping the soil thoroughly 
moist but not wet until all of the seeds have germinated. 
The young plants require sunshine, therefore the flat should be 
placed in the sunlight after all the seeds have germinated. When 
the plants have acquired a second or third set of leaves, or when they 
have grown sufficiently large for transplanting, they may be removed 
to the open ground. They should not be left in the flats for too long 
a time as younger plants are more successfully transplanted than 
those that have grown too tall and woody. 
See A & M PLANTING CALENDAR on inside of back cover 
for varieties to plant in the open ground or in flats, time of 
planting, etc. For other tables see pages 37, 94, 95. 
FEED YOUR PLANTS 
Plants, like animals, must have good food in order to thrive. Give 
them a complete plant food containing the three most necessary ele¬ 
ments usually found in insufficient quantities in the soil—nitrogen, 
phosphorus and potash. 
Each plant food element has a particular function of its own. 
Nitrogen produces luxuriant and rapid growth. Phosphorus strength¬ 
ens growth, develops a strong root system and accentuates produc¬ 
tivity. Potassium promotes sturdiness and gives better color to flowers, 
also texture and flavor to vegetables and fruits. 
A plant food such as this should be used iightly (3 to 5 pounds 
per 100 square feet) several times during the season rather than 
heavily once a year. It will give equally good results on vegetables, 
flowers, shrubs, trees and lawns. 
See page 81 for Plant Foods. 
PROTECT YOUR PLANTS 
WRITE FOR THE ACME SPRAYING GUIDE 
Garden insects in general are divided into two classes, sucking 
and chewing. In the sucking class are such insects as aphis, thrips, 
scale, mealy bug, etc. These may be controlled by contact insecti¬ 
cides such as nicotine, oil sprays, lime-sulphur, pyrethrum, etc. Chew¬ 
ing insects are various species of worms, caterpillars, beetles, etc., 
which actually chew the leaves of the plants. To control these a 
stomach poison may be used, such as Lead Arsenate, Calcium Arse¬ 
nate, Paris Green, Derocide, etc. 
For fungus diseases such as mildew, blight, leaf spofy etc., use 
Cuprocide, Bordeaux Mixture, Basic Copper Sulphate, Fungusol, etc. 
See pages 82, 83, 84 and 85 for Insecticides. 
NON-WARRANTY: Note—There are so many contingencies to be encoun¬ 
tered in growing plants from seed and in setting out plants that are 
dependent on the weather and other conditions over which we have no 
control, that success in planting is not altogether dependent on the seed 
or plant. We will send out only seed which we believe will grow and 
produce the kind of plant and variety represented, but— 
Aggeler & Musser Seed Co. gives no warranty, express or implied, as to 
description, quality, productiveness, or any other matter of any seeds, 
bulbs, plants or trees they send out, and they will not be in any way 
responsible for the crop. 
