HAND BOOK FOR THE GARDEN 
~~] 
Ww 

TREATMENT OF SEED BED. Keep the seed boxes in a 
warm place, and the soi! quite moist, and the water, which should 
never be cold, must be applied in the form of a fine spray, until the 
plants appear, after which the soil should be thoroughly watered at 
regular intervals and no more water added until the surface soil 
begins to get dry, for if kept too moist all of the time, there is danger 
of the plants damping off, and again, if a little water is added fre- 
quently the top of the seed bed may look moist while the bottom of 
the bed into which the roots of the plants are to pentrate and which 
should be moist, may become very dry, causing shallow rooting, hence 
the necessity for saturation at regular intervals. 
The seed beds and plants should have plenty of air. 
TRANSPLANTING. The young seedling plants which are to 
be grown for their bloom should, as soon as the first true leaves 
are formed, be transplanted so that they will stand at some distance 
from one another. For small, rather slow-growing, plants, such as 
Pansies, 1 inch apart each way will afford ample room, but with 
most plants 2 inches each way will be best, while with robust-grow- 
ing plants, like the Castor Bean, 4 inches will not be too much. 
With such plants, however, it is best to place the seeds directly in 
pots or cans in order to prevent disturbing the roots of the young 
seedlings and to afford them ample space. Transplanting has a ten- 
dency to make the plants stocky and helps the development of an 
extensive root system. 
SHADE AT TRANSPLANTING TIME. Newly transplanted 
plants should be shaded from the sun for a few days. For this pur- 
pose shingles stuck in the ground at an angle, the top extending over 
the plants, empty flower pots, tin cans, etc., come in handy. 
In transplanting care must be taken to firm the soil well around 
the roots and to set the plants considerably deeper than when grow- 
ing in the original bed. 
PLANTS REQUIRED to FILL A CIRCULAR BED 
Diameter 6 in. Apart 12 in. Apart 18 in. Apart 
3 feet 28 is 
4 feet 48 12 
5 feet 80 20 8 
6 feet 112 28 13 
7 feet 152 38 17 
8 feet 200 50 23 
9 feet 256 64 28 
10 feet 320 80 36 
ee ee 
