no 
THE 
ANIERI^:^^S 
May, 
Lettuce seods arc so ^ ti,oy 
iuK ucarly thick, and altl.ough 
generally so« n t foothold 
Plante tin. crowded tack 
and furnish a supplj iptvor of \vcll 
the crispness «>' 
grown heads that h.i\ ^ ,,,,1 ..iiick >> rowtli. 
room for full development a j „(t 
The usual method practiced ^c " J’ 
followed to some extent m>w . . 
gardeners, is to sow tlmj^a^ J^Soptoinher, 
supply m the d’C" ^ to prick the 
and after two or thiet weiu 1 . 
young plants into cold frames for 
and in the spring to transplant > 
__„„.wi AlthonK’hlil 
SEASONABLE HINTS. 
In deciding upon the location of a garden, 
character of the soil, natural drainage, ex¬ 
posure to the sun, are important points to 
be considered, hut another essential consid¬ 
eration, ivhich is frequently lost sight of, is 
that of where the growing crops are most 
likely to receive the best care. An out-of- 
the-way sardeii, however favorable to the 
growth o^f vegetables, will, naturally, not 
receive as frerpicut attention as one more 
coiiveiiieutly situated, and constantly under ’ ; „.,o,„„i. Althongl 
thus f^-own are somewhat hardier than with- 
the 
hints 
early spring supply. 'I’he plants can bo 
the eve of the owner. 
Altiioiigh good seeds, fertilizer.s, favor¬ 
able soil,dc., are important factors in sue- 
ecsstul gardening, all these are of little avail thehoHied, the window, or sown 
early in the open groniul and then transpliintcd 
separately, or bi'tivccn early Cabbage plants, 
where they will be out of the way le- 
forc the Cabliagcs dispute tlieir idaim to the 
ground. Given plenty of room lo to 20 
inches each way and a fair chance in ricli, 
loamy soil in which Lettuce delighls, our 
best sorts will grow heads of sucli size and 
quality as to astonish those who have never 
dormant, living plant—as mnch so as the 
bear or woodchuck which has rolled himself 
into a snug hall, and is passing the long, 
cold winter in inactivity and seeming lifelesg. 
ness is a living animal. Warmth and other 
conditions will bring the plantlet as well as 
llie, hear from the dormant state, and the 
functions of nutrition and reproduction win 
tlicn hold sway, if tlic winter should he in- 
delinitcly prolonged the time would come 
when the sluggish life of the hibernating 
animal wnmld cease—the vital spark woxdd 
go out because of the lack of any more fuel 
to burn. ... 
So with the .seed, it is to he supposed there 
is a. constant though slow combustion, or de¬ 
struction of substance, going on, which in 
time exhausts the vitality of tlie seed. AVe 
see no did’erenee between the living 
when not combined with thorough and fre¬ 
quent culture. In fact, if we were to ar¬ 
range the requirements tor success in the 
order of their importance, wc slionld place 
perfect cultivation first on the list. .Tudi- 
cious and liberal cultivation will often firo- 
dnee satisfactory results under most unfa¬ 
vorable conditions, while without it ever} - 
thing else goes for but little. 
It is for this reason that wc repeat the ad¬ 
vice given liefore. to our readers, to beware 
of undertaking too much. 'J’here is nothing 
more disheartening, more depressing, than 
the sight of a garden that has grown beyond 
the bounds of our control. It is like a flood 
breaking the dam which held the waters in 
check, subject to our wishes, that when once 
released sweeps everything before it, and 
against which all our attempts to stem it 
jirovc futile. 
If one has more land than he feels sure to 
be able to till well, it is best to seed it with 
grass or fflover, or some other green manure 
crop. 'I'here is no better wa\' to regenerate 
old garden groiinil. By keei)ing alternate 
parts in grass for a few years the soil be¬ 
comes sulliciently supplied with vegetable 
matter, the most frequent desideratum in old 
gardens. 
H'urbuj ,S'W.s.—It is worse than useless to 
put seeds in the ground before it is dry and 
friable, esjieeially the more tender kinds. 
Seeds sown early should not be covered 
as much as those sown later in the season. 
For the first eroj) of Peas, for instance, three 
inches is jn-eferahleto a greater deiith, while 
for those planted in .lime or./nly a covering 
of six inches is none too inn(;h, especially in 
light soils. 
Jladiiihi-ii. With few vegetahkis is the man¬ 
ner in which they are grown of as much im¬ 
portance !is with till! Jtadish. .Vo matter 
what tiie,variety, if it is not grown rajndly 
and in projier soil, it will heharsh and tough. 
'J'o raise tender and crisp Jhidishes tiic 
ground must he deep, rich, and contain a lib¬ 
eral portion of decayed vegetable matter, to¬ 
gether with some sand. For an early crop 
the situation inusthe weil-stieltered and iiave 
a sunny exposure. In dry weather water 
should be given freely. 
jMarketegardeners raise them as an auxil- 
iary crop in i-ows with fleets. Carrots, etc. 
The seed, which is sown thinly together 
with the main crop, comes iijj (piickly, and 
tlie Jhidishes are fit for use, and pulled, hefoi-e 
they interfere with the otiier jilants. 
mus aiu" ■■ .. may 
outthisprocoss no one need take so nine I . ■ ^ j,, and the test of 
THE OAK-LEAVED LETTUCE. 
eaten it in its iierfeclion. (live i.ettiicc a 
little e.xtra attention and \tmi will he hodi 
astoni.shed and gratified with the results. 
There are many excellent and distinct va¬ 
rieties, each particular one having its admir¬ 
ers. .Some sorts are decidedly ornamental 
in apjM.-arance. The (Ireen Fringed, for in¬ 
stance, is an ornament wherevei- grown and 
is of splendid quality. Hanson aiidCui'Icd 
India are very fine, hut my lavorite for oiit- 
door enlture is tiie .Stonehe.-nl (lolden Vel- 
low, which will form soli<| heails of lurgi 
size, very crisp and ile.sir.ahle in every pm- 
tieular. q'he Oak-leaved lad,tins', one of tin 
novelties rd' the season, is of nio.st alti-active 
apiiearanee. it does not forni very solid 
heads, hnt as it is slow in running to seed 
is ol special value for Kiimmer <•nltivation. ' 
'V. II. ItAM)! 
HOW LONCl WILL SEEDS LIVE? 
The question of I he vitality of .seeds is a 
jiractieal one lhat pre.seiits itself |o |be 
gardener and farmer, as each seed-time 
turns. With a, stock on hand he dmis 
wisii to purchase more seeds If those ]u> 
are good, yet he cannot allord to run any 
iisks as it wouid he poor ... |,„ 
a httle outlay for seeds, upon the germinal- 
iiig and otlier powers of which his season’s 
siiceess n. the growing of ,.,.ops depends 
A. ripe and perfect seed is a wel|-p,.o,'eet!!,i; 
\’V- 
not. 
hns 
Jiny 
apidyiiig the. condilioms for growth decides 
the question. Whatever may be the real 
cause of death in seeds, the fact remains, 
that in the majority of kinds after a few 
years at most the seeds die. Fresh seeds 
should therefore he sown, as old ones are 
either dead, or, if alive, will generally pro¬ 
duce. plants with vigor impaired. 
'I'here, have heen many experiments to de¬ 
termine the average duration of the life of 
some of our most common seeds. Forex- 
ample, out of 100 grains of Wheat, kept one 
year, OO grew; out of the same nuinberkept 
two years Sf grew, of tiiree years, GO grew; 
of four years, fii grew; after six years only 
six plants were ohtained. Those kept for 
seven, eight, nine and ten years were all 
dead. A'ery mnch the same rcsiilts obtained 
will! tested grains of li.ye. Oats and Barley 
will kee|i for eight years without a decrease 
in the jier cent of living seeds. 
Tiie so-called “Mninin 3 ' Wheat"' which at¬ 
tracted so much attention severai years ago 
passed through so man_v hands before being 
lilanteil. that even some grains of Indian 
Corn were found in it. All scientific men 
agree 1 hat I he story is a iioax, and even if 
the grain had heen iireserved the life would 
have gone out hundreds of years ago. 
.Aiiich work on the vitalit.v of seeds has 
been done h v a eommitlee appointed for the 
purpose hv Hie British .Vssoeiation for the 
.Vdvanceinent of Seicnee. It experimented 
on .'ifil siieeies belonging to 2SS genera and 
71 dilVereiil. natural orders, or families of 
plants. Only ;(;! genera retained their vitality 
over two years; only 22 genera over 20 
t’ears, and only two genera over fiO years. 
'Pile vitality of seeds deiiends somewhat 
upon the maimer in which lhe\' are eured. 
'I'hey shoiihl he well dried and kept so. .'^eeds 
in large bins may ‘‘iieat" and even germinate 
when they are killed, just as in the ea.«e ol 
the mall, grains. Seeds will withstand severe 
cold iiiiieh better than great iieat. Seeds 
that have heen exposed tt) the low leini'era- 
tiire of the polar regions anti even a 
more extreme, cold by artilleial means have 
come out with theii' vitality .se.eniingly 
impaired. 
Any heat that will cook, so to speak, tlie 
seed ilestroys its life. A seed will with¬ 
stand II nnutli lilgiier dry heat than when 
lilaced in a litpiiil. Spores of some Fniigl 
will live after being hoiletl in water for some 
time; hnt this is excejitlonal, oven among 
these low forms td’ plants. 
B. 1). IlALS’fBP' 
