4 
spaced at least a quarter of an inch apart. If the boards 
that make up the bottom of the flat are placed too close 
together they will swell when moist and make the box 
water-tight. Any receptacle that does not permit the 
excess water to drain away will soon become water-log- 
ged. The soil then becomes sour and the plants die. Even 
though provision for drainage is made it is well to place 
some coarse material in the bottom of any receptacle to 
prevent the fine soil from clogging the holes or cracks. 
For this purpose broken pieces of flower pots (termed 
crocks), gravel, stones, and cinders may be used. 
Flower pots come in various sizes, the size being 
measured by the diameter of the pot. A four-inch pot is 
about the smallest size that should be used for sowing 
seed. When only a very small quantity of seed is to be 
sown it is best to use a flower pot, the seed being broad- 
casted over the surface. If many kinds of seed are to be 
sown, most of which will germinate in about the same 
length of time, much space can be saved by sowing them 
in rows in boxes. Pots take up considerable space, while 
a small box can contain many rows of seedlings. More- 
over, Soil or sand in boxes will not dry out as rapidly as 
in pots. 
Sieves, tampers, dibbers, labels—Any one interested 
in growing plants from seed should secure some essential 
tools. They are all very simple and can be easily made. 
Sieves simplify the operation of sowing seed, especially 
fine seed, and once they are used they become a necessity. 
A fine screen need not be more than six or eight inches 
square, but one with a coarser mesh for seiving large 
quantities of potting soil should be one by two feet or 
larger. The fine screen may be made by tacking a piece 
of window-screen wire cloth to a wooden frame. For 
coarser screens wire screening 14-, 14-, or 14-inch mesh 
is used, the size of the mesh depending upon the nature of 
the soil and the purpose for which it is wanted. It would 
not only take a very long time to sift through a fine sieve 
all the soil necessary for some zinnias, but also it would 
not be best for the plants. Finely sifted soil packs with 
PUDOR’S, INC., PUYALLUP, WASH. 
