This is" the first of a series of articles on gardening, especially intended for city dwellers and
suburban residents, who have enough ground around their homes to cultivate flowers, and raise
vegetables. ' r .
While the information conveyed is reliable in character and based on scientific facts; it "is
presented in such popular form that a bright 12-year-old can comprehend. It is not intended for
experienced gardeners, but for amateurs who, without these hints, w-ould be driven to asking
their neighbors for guidance. f . " ' - ;
This feature will run for several weeks in The Sunday Oregonian. '
TIVVNSriiANTIXG TO THE OPEN
How to Moto Pot-Grown Plants Into
the Outdoor Garden Beds.
NEVER transplant when the soil !
wet. It Is better to transplant on a
brlg-ht day, when the earth is dry than on
damp or wet days, despite the general
belief among amateurs to the contrary.
Dry soli will pack much better around
the roots, and the roots need more hospi
tality than the upper bodies of the young;
growths.
Water the plants thoroughly the night
before they are to be moved. When ready
to transplant, make the holes In the
garden with a trowel, each to be large
enough to take all the roots without
crowding, but no larger.
Then bring the plants out. As soon
s a plant is out of the pot, set it In a
hole, prens the earth firmly, but very
gently around it; pour water In, wait till
. it has partly disappeared and press more
earth around it.
When all the plants are in, work the
earth very fine and smooth around each
one, taking care that the upper layer of
the soli seems perfectly granulated and
cry. if wet spots appear after all th
plants are set cover them with a sprlnk- ;
nng or nne earth. This Is the mulching ,
torn these tender things need to keen
moisture about their roots instead of let
ting It escape to the upper surface of the
ground. Do not make the mistake of
covering the plant itself in any way to
"protect" it. If the roots keep cool and
damp, as the mulching should keep them
if It is done systematically for some days
until the plants show that they are thriv
ing, the roots will take care of the rest
of the plant.
If It rains before the plants are thor
oughly established the earth must be
worked over as soon as It begins to dry.
If it does not rain the water applied at
planting time should last for several days.
Stir the soil and dig down a trifle to see
its condition. If i,t Is too dry make a
hole on one side of the tlan n i
with water, carefully mulching the top
-a mm . UI Jf soil.
FOR MOISTURE-IX) YING PLAXTS
How to Make Wild Spot That Shall
Be Wet Glen In Miniature.
W or. our most beautiful -wild
fc3 plants, such as the greatest of the
native ferns, blue flags, cardinal flowers.
trilllums, forget-me-nots, etc, will thrive
only where they can get practically con
stant moisture. Every garden has some
snaay spots where they would And a de
sirable home If this problem of water
supply could be solved.
The average suburban gardener can
not afford to give plants a running sup
ply from his house.
There la a simple way. however, to
make a tiny corner, say three feet high
by three or four feet square, by making
a rockery In a corner of house or fence,
and setting forest mold and muck from
woodland bog on litUe terraces and in
pockets and crevices among the rocks.
On the top place a small flat rock, large
enough to support a wooden bucket, an
old butter firkin, a small keg or any
other similar receptacle. See that It Is
water-tight. Coat it with pitch, if neces
sary. With a very fine gimlet bore three
or four extremely small holes near the
bottom. Burn them with a red hot wire
or nail so that the edges of the holes
shall remain hanl, instead of swelling
and closing up when water is put in.
Having placed this receptacle, pile flat
slabs of rock upright against It till it is
hidden completely. When it is filled
with water, the liquid should trickle forth
so slowly, though constantly, that the
rockery will glisten all the time with
moisture. If arranged properly, an or
dinary bucket will not need refilling
oftener than three or four times a week.
UNCOMMON, BUT GOOD VIXES
A Form of Plant Growth In Which
Much Variety Is Wise.
WHILE too much variety is generally
productive of an unsatisfactory ef
fect in the case of flowers, shrubs and
trees, unless the design Is extra good,
vsriety in vines is something much to'
be recommended. Whether a place Is
covered with one kind of vine or many,
effect on the eye is the same. There'
JT A TT Tni:
J GENERAL DIRECTIONS WM EXPERIENCED MAN, APPLICABLE 1X FLOWERS AND VEGETABLES
is a good, pleasing mass of foliage. But
to the owner of the place too much of
ene vine, such as honeysuckle, wood
bine, clemaUs, etc, often becomes mo
notonous. There Is no reason why many different
kinds of vines should not grow over
the same place. Most vines are "toler
ant," that is, they get along pretty well
together.
Among the good, swiftly growing vines
that are not generally known is the Jap
anese Akebla qulnata. It is free from
Insect foes, grows very fast and has
beautiful leaves that unfold early and
stay late. It has spicy brownish flowers
in early Spring and gets along very well
with other vines.
! For low verandas or trellises, there
Is a good vine known as the Chinese ,
( Matrimony vine (Lycium Chlnense),
which has bright purple flowers that are
! succeeded later in the season by brilliant
' scarlet berries. The Bignonia Grandi-
flora, or trumpet creeper, has rich
orange-scarlet trumpet-shaped flowers.
; If It is pinched back when it has gone
i as high as you wish It to grow. It forms
a thick, shrub-like head.
! One x of the most prodigious growers
1 of all is the Kudzu vine, a Japanese lm-
: portatlon, which has the peculiar name ;
I of "Jack and the Beanstalk" on account !
of Its swiftness of growth. Its foliage
Is large and Iobed, and late in the season
it bears pea-shaped purple flowers in
clusters.
HOW TO RAISE RADISHES
One of Our Easy Crops for the Home
Garden.
RADISHES come in early, medium
and late varieties. The very early
kind grows quickly, but becomes woody
very soon. The medium and late-ripening
varieties will hold their tender
quality longer.
Do not seed in freshly manured
ground. The great pest of the radish
Is the root maggot, which is most plen
tiful In such soil.
The ground may be fairly stiff, but
It must not be as heavy as a clayey
soil Is. It should be well tilled, al
though It need not be very deep, as
from four to six Inches of sou Is enough
for most kinds of radlsn.
Make the drills at least 13 Inches
apart and when the first leaves come
up, thin so that the plants stand about
six inches apart. About three-fourths
Inch deep is the right depth for plant
ing the seed.
The early ripening varieties can be
sown down from now until the middle
of June, making sowings every two
wbbkb ior succession, xne medium or
Summer varieties should ue sown from
about the middle of this month through
July.
11 you want winter radishes,
sow that variety down Is June.
Spring radishes must be picked . as
soon after they are of proper sise as
possible. The Summer varieties may
stay in the ground a little longer after
reaching table size than the Spring
kind, as tney will not get woedy or
pithy so soon. All radishes should,
however, be picked soon after maturing.
OUTSIDE WINDOW BOXES.
Great Helps to Outdoor Gardens.
Complete Gardens Themselves.
OUTSIDE window and veranda boxes
are not only beautiful little gardens
In themselves when well kept, but many
plants too tender to seed down with Im
punity In the garden beds, where they
would be washed out by rains, may be
started in the boxes amid the other olijjts
that are to remain there. .
Such boxes should be at least a foot
wide and deep. The length, of course,
will be as may be convenient. The boards
must be well braced so that they will not
warp apart and allow the water to run
away.
Fuchsias, ferns, asparagus, sprenseri.
ageratums, fancy leaved caladlums and
most of the tuberous-rooted begonias are
beautiful for the window box. Begonias
however, will do best in a window box
that faces the north.
For windows facing the street, hrieht
flowers should be selected. Geraniums.
heliotropes, coleus, cotens and similar
flowers will answer best, particularly if
there is plenty of bright sunlight to bring
out their rich colors.
Vines should not be lacking. A. window
box four feet long will Drovlde suste
nance and room for half a dozen plants
THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, MAT 10, 1908.
w
11 llf U III II II
2
1
xx cW i'
UTILIZING UNSIGHTLY PLACES
This picture shows a simple and
cheap way to beautify an unsightly
back end of a garden that has the
further disadvantage of looking out
on a flat, unattractive view. A small
space Is cleared away In front of the
low, wild shrubbery, and In this are
planted stakes on which woodbine and
honeysuckle, both collected In the
woods, are being trained, to form a
green wall that will be especially hap
py In the Autumn when the wild
shrubbery gets so very ragged and dis
tressingly weedy. The round bed,
roughly dug In the sod, Is seeded down
with nasturtiums. The amount of
seed needed Is less than 20 cents'
worth.
ana tnree arooping vines, if they are
cared for well during the season. It is
a good plan, however, to. leave the gera
niums and similar flowers in their pots,
so that deteriorating plants can be re
placed by others.
Maurandya is one of the finest vines for
the purpose. It droops most gracefully,
but it grows poor before the season is
ended and will need to be pulled out. An
extra vine can be grown in a Pot so
that It will mature in time to replace it.
wild cucumber makes .a beautiful vine,
especially when used as a background for
brilliant vermilion geraniums, such as the
8. A. Nutt or a scarlet like the Bruant.
nasturtiums and morning-glories are
other excellent plants for these boxes.
sweet alyssum, phlox, drummondil and
verbenas are easily raised and will prove
highly satisfactory
Cut the flowers freely. Do not allpw any
oi them to go to seed if you wish to keep
them In constant bloom. Water gently
from a sprinkling pot and give a little
liquid manure every week, if possible.
The earth along the sides of the boxes
will soon shrink away and the water will
run away instead of benefitting the
plants, unless the soil Is kept loose and
porus by frequent stirring and scratch
ing with a pointed stick. Much of the
shrinkage can be avoided if the soil is
made a trifle higher in the middle of the
box than at the sides.
ARE
XOT
MOLLYCODDLES
Some Excellent Shrubs as Good in
Foliage as in Bloom. '
SNOWBALL is one of the fine old
timers known to all, and it is worthy
of a place fa any garden. In a small
plot it will almost make a whole garden
by itself with its great spheres of snow
white flowers. It thrives even "under
partial neglect. The Japanese variety Is
more compact than the common snow
ball, has foliage of a much deeper and
more attractive green, and its dense
flowers come in a regular formation that
makes it rather striking.
Lilacs come in enormous variety now
adays. There are Japanese, Persian,
Chinese and French, ranging, in color
from white through blues and
violets to deep purple. The lilac Is a
very hardy plant, almost entirely insect
proof, but is sometimes attacked by mil
dew or rust, especially late In the season.
This disease does little harm at the time
except to Injure the appearance of the
foliage, but if not extirpated by applica
tion of Boredeaux mixture, it will spread
and gradually spoil an otherwise per
petually beautiful thicket.
The common lilacs, though it Is some
what forced to the background these days
by the showier new lilacs, remains one
of our sweetest friends, and no one need
feel that It is a waste of room to give
this shrub lots of space, even if the purse
cannot afford the finer kinds. Almost
anybody can get a few cuttings of this
old-fashioned lilac for nothing, as it
spreads so that gardeners are glad each
year to get rid of some. Its individual
flowers are larger than the Persian, but
the panicles are not so great. Its foliage,
however, is even better and its scent and
color are sure to satisfy.
The Japanese lilac grows very tall. Its
flowers are extremely full and fragrant
and it blooms pretty late.
The common white lilac is said by
many amateurs to. be the most satis
factory of this color-variety.
Another sweet-scented shrub of grand
ma's day is calycanthus. Its bloom Is a
mall, queer bud of brownish-purple;
which has a spicy odor especially when
crushed. It retains the smell long after
It is dry. It Is better known as Btraw
;X s
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lit AN
Ma
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1 i"
iX
berry shrub and makes a pleasant plant
for any garden, as its habit of growth is
as attraotlve as its foliage.
Rose of Sharon or althea is most ac
commodating as to soil, and most garden
ers succeed with it eveg if they fail with
everything else. It grows tall and sturdy
and can be had in many color varieties.
Jeanne d'Arc has double white f lowers.
Albus Oculatus has very large double
white bloom with a red eye. Variegatus
has green and white foliage. Paeoniflora,
as its name Implies, bears large double
pink flowers.
Snowberry is a quiet unassuming bush
which Is exceedingly useful to plant in
the -midst of other shrubbery because
it has great masses of snowwhtte berries
that remain on It throughout the Winter.
MAY WORK IN THE GARDEN
Transplanting, Insect-Hunting and
Blossoms to Expect Now.
TC wauai an hardy plants are now
"A above ground and it Is time to do
the clean lng-up work around the beds and
to trim them and lift out such young
weeds as are already trying for a foot
hold.
The Winter's covering of manure has
probably been dug under in old gardens.
This, however, should be done only if It
was clean and did not show any signs
or being infested with worms or maggots.
It Is Important not to waste manure, for
It is immensely valu.-.ble under-ground
during the Summer and a dead loss to
tne garden if it is thrown away; but If it
is under suspicion of having been a Win
ter tavern for garden pests. It should be
cartea into a heap and burned at once.
Thus at least some of its fertilizing prop
erties will be saved in the safe and
sterile form of ashes.
Among other' things, the surplus ma
nure of Winter, which should be quite
my oy tnis time, will make a splendid
mulch for lilies and similar nlants.
If there are still some hardy plants to
transplant, it can be doite successfully
providing great care is used. Dig the hole
fsrst that is to receive them and make
the earth extra fine. Then lift the plant
"u ine eartn around its roots that
v iuaiuiy oe Kept, put burlap or
similar material around it to hold it to
gether while moving It, and transplant
It. The moment the plant is settled in
ine ground, pour water on until the earth
will hold no more. Then make a little
uu-cuiar emoankment of soil around It
and fill wltn water up to Its level. When
that has soaked away, which should i,
a matter of some. time, cover with grass
or omer loose litter for a mulch
and water again plentifully every day
thereafter till the plant shows unmistak
ably that it ihas a good .hold.
This Is the time to ioo'k 'out for cut
worms. They operate Just under the son
at the base of a stalk. If a plant shows
a withering, drooping stalk and there is
no apparent surface enemy, dig down
about half an inch and you will probably
find the pest. Surround the plants with
powdered stove coal ashes.
f
THEY
WHEN WILIi
COME?
How Ixng It Takes Common Vege
tables to Grow.
RADISH plants will begin to show
above the surface In from three to
six days after planting. One- month
after that the early varieties are ready
to. eat. Later sorts mature as late as
45 days after sowing. Lettuce plants
will show in six to eight days. Their
time of maturity, as explained in a
previous article, depends so much on
the variety that it ranges from one
month to three. Endive sends up its
first leaves five to ten days after sow
ing and is ready to eat In 45 davn Pen.
show in six to ten days and are ready
iur uis i.a. oie in o days in very early,
50 days in medium and as lat so
days In the very late sorts. Beans ap
pear in five to. ten days after seeding
and are ready to eat in about 50 days.
Cabbage seed germinates in a week or
ten days and matures in 100 days. Caul
iflower shows first leaves in about a
week and Is ripe for use in about 125
days. Corn appears in a week or eight
days and is ready to eat In from 55 to
99 days. Onions require a week or ten
days to germinate and it takes 100
days for the early and as much as 160
days for the late varietica to mature.
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Parsnips come up in 10 to 20 days and
are ready for the table in about 140 days.
Turnips chow first sprouts in 4 to 8 days
and can be used In from 60 to 70 days. Cel
ery is slow in appearing, rarely show
ing Jts head above ground before the
seed has been in 13 days, and often
failing to appear for 20 days. It re
quires 170 days to get ready for use.
ENDIVE TO FOLLOW LETTUCE
A Delicious Salad Plant, Only Be
ginning to Be Really Known.
ANB of the most delicious salad
plants in the world Is the en
dive. It Is the French chicory
and some day when it is thoroughly
known in America it will largely sup
plant our more common lettuces.
There are two varieties the curled
and the broad-leaved. The former is
the more tender. It matures slowly,
requiring about seven weeks and can
be sown so that it will come in dur
ing the heated months, when lettuce
Is at its poorest. Endive sown now
and every two weeua for succession
till June will give crops at just the
right time.
Plant the seed fairly close, and as
soon as a few leaves are up begin to
thin, using the thinnings for the table.
Continue this thinning dally till the
plants that are to remain and grow to
maturity are at least one foot apart.
As soon as the leaves are four
Inches tall, you may begin to pick. Or
the leaves can be cut' oft and the plant
will grow others. Picked this way,
endive is at its tenderest.
It it is allowed to grow into heads,
the stalks should be blanched. This
is done by excluding the light from
them either by heaping straw or hay
around the - base of the plants, by
covering with boards or most easily
and best by tying the heads. Be care
ful, however, never to perform any of
these operations at a time when there
is a dew or rain on the plants. They
must be perfectly dry when handled.
If the heads are tied up, the blanch
ing process should be complete in
about 15 days, sometimes earlier. As
soon as they are blanched, the endive
should be used.
BEGIN TO DO MULCHING NOW
From This Time On Plants WW
Need Moisture.
W HEXEIVER the soil around any
VV plant, whether it be flower, shrub
or vegetable, is hard and. caked. It Is a
sure symptom that your treatment of
the garden is wrong. The average ama
teur will try to correct the matter at
once by watering; indeed, that is all
that most gardeners used to do when
If
FROG FARMING PAYING PROPOSITION
California Girl Who Makes $1800 a Year Out of Her Ranch.
0
NEJ OF the most successful frog
ranches in California la owned and
managed by Miss Katherine Walsh. Uke
a . good many other people now living
In the West, Miss Walsh was forced to
leave her native state in the East be
cause of 111 health. Being told to live
out of doors and foroed by necessity
to earn her own living, she decided to
raise frogs for the market, and now not
only owns one of the most picturesque
ranches In Contra Costa County but sup
ports lu comfort her mother and the two
children of a dead sister.
"The net profit of my froggeries for
last year was something over JW00," Miss
Walsh, told the. reporter. "I sold 300U
dozen 'frog legs in San Francisco and
that was the amount cleared. They
were all shipped alive to hotels ana
restaurants and the price received was
from 1 to & i dozen. Of course the
price of frog legs, like that of every
other variety of game, depends on the
size and the season. .
"The native green frog of California
is very small, and while the legs are
delicious in taste they bring much less
money than when- the native frog Is
crossed with the large Eastern frog. Ac
cording to epicures the very best frog
for the table Is the cross between the
California and the Florida species. With
carefully selected stock this cross pro
duces exceptionally handsome frogs and
so dellclously flavored as to put to blush
the finest Parisian product.
"My froggeries cover ten acres of land
and are four in number, besides the small
pools where the tadpoles are kept until
they are large enough to be put with
their older relatives. Yes, it Is abso-i
lutely necessary to keep them divided
according to size, as frogs are about
the most cheerful cannibals one could
Imagine.
"Anything of his own kind from a tad
pole up is fair game for a large frog that
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POTTED FOLIAGE AND FLOWERS
FOR LAWNS.
A garden that has failed, or ene that
has been neglected too long to make
It possible to get the requisite amount
of bloom and foMage from planted
things, can be made artificially, so to
speak, by the lavish use of large
plants In pots and tubs, as shown
here. The assortment Is miscellane
ous, and not artistic from a garden
er's point of view, but as an expedi
ent In necessity It serves Its purpose
excellently well. Potted plants, such
as hydrangeas, cactus, palms, yucca,
little cedars and other beautiful ever
greens, and scores of varieties of
flowers, can be obtained so cheaply
that It should not be difficult to
brighten up the surroundings of a
house at any time of the Summer.
the ground was dry. Now-a-days we
know that watering hard, baked earth
Is always useless and sometimes worse
than that. When the earth cakes. It Is
a sign that y. has sucked up all the
moisture from below and has allowed
it to evaporate. What It needs imme
diately is to be dug, hoed or raked and
made as fine as dust. Very often. If
it is Impossible to give a garden sufficient
water, as when the patch is far from
the house, or too large to soak as It
should be soaked, you pan refresh the
plants without water by loosening all the
soil around them and making it per
fectly granulated and soft.
The writer had one experimental veg
etable patch last Bummer In a meadow
so far from the house that it was quite
impossible to water it. There was a
drouth of three weeks and by merely
raking the entire place every day the
moisture already In the ground was con
served so perfectly that not a single
plant so much as wilted.
As soon as the earth has been loosened,
water it freely, but not with a sprinkling
pot. The sprinkling pot is sbsolutely
out of place In a garden. It is useful
for potted plants, but for nothing else.
Soak the ground with a hose, or pour
water on it in pallfuls. Immediately
following the watering, cover with a
mulch.
Wrhat is a mulch? Anything that will
cover the ground loosely and yet tho
roughly. The most desirable for -gardens
is lawn-mower cuttings from the lawn,
because it is not displeasing to the eye;
but chopped straw, very dry manure,
dry leaves, and similar vegetable mat
ter will answer perfectly.
If no vegetable refuse of any kind is
available, street dust or house sweepings
will do very well. Indeed, many growers
prefer dust to anything else. Whatever
is used it must be kept loose and light.
Its object is to prevent the heat of the
sun or atmosphere from reaching the
ground underneath, and Just enough
must be used to gain this purpose and
no more. The writer has seen coal ashes
and even gravel used as mulch; they
can catch and swallow it. They are not
at all particular about being able to
swallow it at one gulp either. Indeed
they are perfectly content, if they can get
a portion of their victim within reach of
the digestive fluids, to sit placidly with
a part hanging out of their mouth until
room has been made for it Inside.
"In spite of every precaution tho large
frogs will sometimes get out. When thy
do it seems that instinct leads them di
rectly to the tadpole pools. In the morn
ing the runaway frog is found wearing a
plaOId smile of contentment, unmistakable
evidence that a sufficiency of tadpoles
have been stored away by him.
"I now have all my ponds and pools sur
rounded by close board fences three feet
in height. No, the frogs cannot jump so
high, but if by chance a broom, a garden
utensil or even a broken branch Is left
leaning against the fence the frogs seem
to discover it In some miraculous manner,
and at once, using It as a gangplank, set
out to see the world.
."They are great travelers by nature,
and soon after moving my stock to this
place I had an amusing experience. As it
was not possible to have banks about my
first froggeries, I had fences built, but
when I bought this ranch, as all the
ponds had high banks I thought there
would be no necessity for the fences.
"A few days after we moved in I was
awakened early one morning by the gar
dener and Invited to come out and look at
the frogs. It seemed as If the whole place
was covered with them. They had climbed
the banks and were oft on their travels.
We were kept busy the entire morning
sweeping them up with brooms and dust
pans and dumping them back into the
ponds where they belonged.
"The pools for my tadpoles are never
more than a foot dee; and have cement
covered bottoms. The frog ponds are
deeper and the bottoms are covered with
mud. In which the frogs bury themselves
during the Winter.
"All my pools and ponds are so perfect
. W"';. V5 "
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served the purpose, bat of course only as
desperate- expedients.
PLANTING OP FLOWER SEEDS
Simple Directions to Amateurs tot
the Preparation of the Soil.
IN making the garden bed for outdoor1
sowing of seed, the amateur can
save much time and trouble by under
standing clearly just what the princi
ple is.
In the first place, remember that al
most all the seeds of our common gar
den flowers are extremely tiny. To
put these minute things into rough
earth, full of little clods and stones, is
' like dropping them into a lot of minia
ture subterranean caves, where they
are neither covered properly nor will
they get nourishment. The earth into
which they go should be so fine that
no amount of crumbling between the
Angers will make it any Oner. If It
can be sieved, that la the best thing
to do.
But while the seeds need perfectly
powdered earth to do their best, they
do not need much of it. A few Inches
In depth Is all that Indoor seed boxes
ever have. Consequently It is by no
means necessary to work over tho
whole garden bed to make it a good
seed bed.
On the other hand, however, as the
flowers that come up are to stay where
they grow, It is extremely necessary
that the entire bed be prepared as it
should be to provide the proper nour
ishment and foothold for the plants
after their roots begin to go deeper
than the upper seedbed.
Therefore the right way to go about'
making a bed for seeding down flowert
is to remove about half a foot or even
a little less of the top soil If it is very
rich and black earth. If not, get an
equal quantity of earth that is good, pass
It through a fine sieve if possible, or else
rake it and pick it over till it is per
fectly fine. Pile it alongside of the bed.
Then go at the latter. Dig it deep,
mixing the upper soil well with the lower.
Unless the earth Is very rich Indeed, put
some fine well-rotted manure In and turn
It under. Rake It all thoroughly, remov
ing all large stones and hard material,
and everything that will prevent the
earth from forming a good root bed.
After the bed has been thoroughly raked
and smoothed, trample it down well un
til it Is packed solid. Then rake again
thoroughly, because while you want the
earth to be well packed, as rain and
weather would pack it In time, you still
do not want It hard and solid.
After this second raking, cover evenly
with the very fine earth for the reception
of the seeds. Most of the flower seeds
will not need to be dug under. It will be
best to scatter them lightly on the ground
and then press them in firmly with a flat
board. Scatter fine earth, crumbled be
tween the fingers, over them and tho
work is done.
ly drained that an overflow is quite im
possible, and in case it becomes necessary
all the water can be let off within a few
minutes. They are all. ponds and pools,
covered with a green lacework of alga
so thick as to resemble one unbroken
mass, but the water under this growth
Is fresh.
A 8ong of Beauty. '
Denis A. McCarthy in the New York Sun.
Oh, sin me a song of beauty J I'm tired of
the strenful song,
I'm weary of all the preaching, the arguing
right and wrong,
I'm fain to forget the adder that under the
laf lies curled.
And dream of the light and beauty that
gladdens the gray old world!
Oh, sing of the emerald meadows
mile all dar In the sun!
mat
The ripple and gleam of the rivers that oa
through the meadows run!
Oh, sing or the sighing branches of trees
In the leafy woods.
And the balm for the heart that's hidden
afar in the solitudes!
The birds let them sing In your singing
and flash through the lines you writ
The lark with his lilt In the morning the
nightingale charming the night.
The butterfly over the flowers that hovers
on painted wing
All these, let them brighten and lighten the
beautiful song you sing!
And let there be faces of lovers,
there be eves that
and let
And let there be tears of gladness instead
of the tears of woe.
And let there be clinging kisses of lips for
a time that part.
But never a tristful shadow to darken a
trustful heart!
Ay, sing me a song of beauty away with
songs of strife!
Away with the specter of sorrow that sad
dens the most of life?
Though under the leaf the adder of death
and of doom lies curled.
Oh, sing, for a sparce. of the beauty that
gladdens the gray old world!