My Side Beckham David download

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-beckham-david-7488822

Explore and download more ebooks at ebookbell.com

Here are some recommended products that we believe you will be
interested in. You can click the link to download.

My Side Of Fate My Side Series S Huntleigh

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-fate-my-side-series-s-
huntleigh-54868136

My Side Of The Story Will Davis

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-the-story-will-davis-46353174

My Side Of The Diamond Sally Gardner

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-the-diamond-sally-
gardner-54580182

My Side Of The Story 1st Edition Will Davis

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-the-story-1st-edition-will-
davis-34249022
My Side Of Fate My Side Series S Huntleigh

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-fate-my-side-series-s-
huntleigh-56045650

My Side Of Life The Autobiography Shane Filan

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-life-the-autobiography-shane-
filan-11323744

My Side Of The Mountain Jean Craighead George

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-the-mountain-jean-craighead-
george-48157546

My Side Of Fate My Side Series S Huntleigh

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-fate-my-side-series-s-
huntleigh-55679476

My Side Of The Mountain Jean Craighead George

https://ebookbell.com/product/my-side-of-the-mountain-jean-craighead-
george-34161790
Discovering Diverse Content Through
Random Scribd Documents
covered with such border-plants as Dusty-miller or Phlox subulata.
The boards may be given a coat of dull-green paint or shingle-stain
before being put in place.

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES AND FOLIAGE

PLANTS

The permanent garden beds should have some such protection, as it

greatly lessens the work of caring for them. Sod borders are very
attractive, but involve an amount of care altogether out of
proportion to the effect, as they must be kept closely shaved and the
constantly encroaching roots of the plants must be as constantly
curbed. This is also the case with grass walks, attractive to look at,
but a supreme nuisance to the gardener. Walks of gravel, cinders or
coal-ashes are preferable, and should be dug deep enough to
smother out all weeds in the soil. If coal-ashes are used the paths
should be nearly filled, the roughest part raked off and the surface
gone over with a heavy roller. If left unrolled, however, the surface
will be found firm and hard after the first heavy rain. Very good and
inexpensive walks are obtained in this manner. Walks, of whatever
kind, should never be hoed, and the weeds must be removed from
them by hand. Hardness and smoothness are the requisites of a
good walk. It is well to avoid self-sowing flowers like Sweet Alyssum,
or Petunias, near the inside walks, as they come up by thousands in
the spring and can only be removed by salting, scalding or
uprooting.
The beds should be well above the surface of the walks, especially
those containing hardy perennials like Peonies and Lilies. In the case
of most plants, water standing around their roots in winter is
absolutely fatal.
The location of the beds and their consequent moisture and
sunshine must determine the flowers to occupy them. If you are
fortunate enough to have a corner low, damp and shaded in the
afternoon, that is the place to set out the beautiful Japanese Iris,
Cypripedium acaule and other moisture-loving plants, while the
Gladiolus may be given a prominent place in full sunshine. Asters
and other flowers that do not bloom until fall should have a less
conspicuous place; they are so showy that they will not fail to attract
attention, wherever they may be planted. Pansies and other low-
growing plants should be set out in the bed next the lawn. The
general effect is finer when only one kind of flower is grown in a
bed, but when two or more varieties of flowers, harmonising in
colour, are grown together, the tallest must be placed in the centre
and the others grouped according to height. Various plants may be
used as edgings, due consideration being given to the plants which
are to fill the beds.
 KEY TO PLATE I.

Giving the Height and Season of Bloom of the Different Perennials, Etc.

Outer Circle.

Pansies—all summer.

First Corner Bed.

A—Montbretias in corners, scarlet and orange, 2 to 3 feet—all

summer.
B—Gladioli in centre, in variety, 3 to 4 feet—September, October.
C—Tuberoses, 3 feet—August, September.
Border of blooming Oxalis, pink and white, 6 inches—all summer

Centre Bed or Mound.

 1—Dark red Peony, 2 feet—May.
2—White Peony, 2 feet—June.
3—Pink Peony, 2 feet—June.
4—Large flowered perennial Phlox—August, September, October.
x A—Auratum Lily, 2 feet—August. September.
x B—Speciosum Album, 2 feet—August, September.
x C—Melpomene, 2 feet—August, September.
x D—Auratum.
x E—Longiflorum, white, 2 feet—June.
x F—Rubrum, 2 feet—August.
x G—Candidum, white, 3 feet—June.
Border—Phlox Subulata.

Rear Corner Beds.

North Bed—Anemones, Whirlwind and Queen Charlotte, white

and pink, 3 feet—September.
Border—Wood Anemones.
South Bed—Asters, 2 feet—September, October.
Border—Auricula, 8 inches—May.
A mass of one kind and colour is more effective than a mixed bed.
The beginner will find that the percentage of success is greater in
growing a large number of one kind, all requiring the same
conditions of soil, moisture and sunlight, than in trying to force
plants of widely different habits to grow under the same conditions.
Hardy perennials, however, not many of which deserve an entire
bed, do very well with several varieties in the same long bed or
border, and may be so grouped as to give a succession of bloom
throughout the season. A raised bed of Peonies interspersed with
the new, large-blooming Phlox and bordered with Japan Lilies will
give a succession of flowers from May to October; or a long bed of
Hollyhocks, or Hibiscus with a row of large-flowered Phlox in front
and edged with dwarf Phlox Drummondii will give months of lovely
bloom. This last combination also makes a serviceable screen
between the vegetable garden and the lawn, or to hide a rear fence.
In arranging parti-coloured beds of flowers, due attention must be
paid to the harmonising of tints. Do not combine magenta and
scarlet, or purple and blue. Separate them by the interposition of
white—the most valuable colour in the garden, as it not only
harmonises all colours but wonderfully enhances their brilliancy.
White with scarlet, with blue, or with yellow is always good.
Lavender and heliotrope are lovely with nearly all shades of scarlet,
rose and pink. Blue flowers planted in the rear of the garden
increase its apparent size, while white, bright yellow and scarlet, by
bringing the background nearer, decrease it. Monkshood and the tall
blue Larkspur are excellent for rear beds.
The accompanying diagrams will be of assistance in planning the
garden—not so much in supplying plans to be followed literally as in
suggesting other plans and variations, while giving practical
information as to number of plants required, their distance apart and
the like. Soil and other details will be treated elsewhere.
In planning a shrubbery (see Plate II.) it is neither necessary nor
desirable to use boards or other curbing for the beds, but the turf
should be kept neatly trimmed and cut. A plot 60 by 40 feet or
more, inclosing a considerable area of turf, gives room for rustic
seats, a stationary hammock, and a tree or two. The circle in the
border greatly increases the accommodation for plants and furnishes
an ideal spot for Lilies. The lily-pond in the centre will be discussed
at length in the chapter devoted to aquatic plants.
The rather complicated design in Plate III. is intended for a rose-
garden or for foliage-beds on a large lawn. It is not at all difficult to
construct, and a little practice with paper and pencil will remove any
apparent obstacle. If you will draw, on a scale of one inch to a foot
with a compass a succession of circles of six, eight and a half, twelve
and a half, fifteen and nineteen inches, respectively, the foundation
of the plan will be laid. Now, divide the fourth circle into fifths and
draw a half circle 4½ by 14 feet or inches on the circle of each fifth
by placing the point of the compass midway between the fourth and
third circle. This will leave a crescent-shaped bed. Mark off from
each side of these half circles or crescents, on the space between
the third and fourth circle, two and one-half feet for paths. Making
the lines parallel with the crescents, the remaining spaces will form
triangular beds, that for convenience may be called the third or
outer row of beds.

KEY TO HARDY BORDER. PLATE

II.

Name of Color. Height. Season of

Plant. Bloom.
Feet, Inches.
 1. Hypericum Yellow 1 6 All summer.
2. Deutzia White 1 8 May, June.
Gracilis
3. Lychnis Pink 1 8 All summer.
Roseum
4. Spiræa White 1 0 May, June.
Filipendula
5. Platycodon Blue 2 0 All summer.
6. Anemone White 3 0 September,
Whirlwind October.
7. Spiræa Crimson 2 to 0 May,
Anthony 4 sometimes
Waterer all
summer.
8. White White 3 0 All summer.
Foxglove
9. Scarlet Scarlet 3 0 All summer.
Lychnis
10. White White 3 0 All summer.
Foxglove
11. Lychnis Red 3 0 June, July.
Splendens
12. White White 2 0 August,
Veronica September.
13. Blue Blue 2 0 July, August.
Veronica
14. Spiræa Van White 3 0 May, June.
Houttei
15. Monkshood Pale 4 0 September,
Fischeri Blue October.
16. Hollyhocks 4 to 0 Summer, fall.
in Var. 5
 17. Monkshood, Dark 4 0 June,
Uncinatum Blue August.
18. Bocconia Cream 5 to 0 July, August.
6

1. Tall Shrubs. 2. Low Shrubs. 3. Herbaceous Pereum.

x x Hardy Lilies. —— — Edging Plants.
Now if radiating lines be drawn from the corners of the crescents to
the centre of the plan the point where they cross the third circle will
be the upper corners of the first row of beds—the lower corners
being formed by the point where the radii from the centre and left
corners of the crescents cross the second circle; the third and
second circles forming the upper and lower sides; the ends being
formed by curved lines drawn from the upper to the lower corners.
Or, having completed the row of five crescents and five triangular
beds, mark off with pole or ruler radiating lines from the corners and
centre of each crescent to the centre of plan; the point where these
radii from the circle of crescents cross the third circle will be the
upper corner of the first row of beds; the lower corners being
formed by the radii from the centre and left-hand corner of
crescents; the ends being formed by curved concave lines from
upper to lower corner—the intervening spaces forming paths.
 For Laying Out the Beds

U se a long pole with a sharp stake passed through a hole at one

end and fastened with a nail driven through it horizontally, so
that it can turn easily, with a number of holes for pegs at the
required distances—six, eight and one-half, twelve and one-half,
fifteen and nineteen feet. Drive the movable stake firmly into the
ground, and do not remove until the work is finished. Slip the sharp
marking peg into the hole, which it should fit closely, and mark out
the circles. For the half circles, or crescents, a nine-foot stick laid
straight across the edge of fourth circle will give an approximate
fifth, the loss in the curve about equalling the fractional loss caused
by multiplying by three alone. Drive a peg with a stick or string
attached into the path a foot inside the third line and mark the
circles on it; mark the paths by lengthening the stick or string two
and a half feet and drawing sections of circles on each side of the
half circles from the fourth to the fifth circles. Now bring the end of
the long pole to the left corner of half circle and mark the radiating
lines and half lines to the centre, and mark off the first row of beds
as you did on paper. In this way almost any form of flowerbed may
be laid out. The following diagrams for foliage-beds on the lawn will
be helpful.
 For a Twelve-foot Foliage-bed

O ne Ricinus in centre; three Ricini four feet from first, an equal

distance apart—or about eight feet. Alternate with these three
clumps of tall-growing Cannas. Surround with a row of scarlet
Salvias, set one foot from edge of bed and twenty inches apart.
Edge with Little Gem Sweet Alyssum.

PLATE III.

Plan for Rose-garden and Foliage-

bed.
 Another Twelve-foot Bed

O ne Ricinus in centre, surrounded at three feet distance by six of

the largest sized Caladiums three feet apart. The third row,
three feet outside, to be composed of low-growing Cannas—Queen
Charlotte, Chicago, Florence Vaughan, or Papa—eighteen inches
apart. Edge with dwarf Nasturtiums.
 Nine-foot Bed

O ne Ricinus trimmed in umbrella form—that is, the lower leaves

removed so that the upper may serve as a shade for the
Cannas. First row, six Allemannia Cannas; second row, twelve inches
outside, twelve Burbank Cannas, fourteen inches apart; third row,
twenty-five Italia Cannas, fourteen inches apart. Edge with Coleus,
set fifteen inches apart.
 Nine-foot Bed

C entre three discolour Cannas, grouped in the corner. First row,

twelve Black Beauty Cannas, eighteen inches apart; second row,
eighteen inches outside, twelve large Caladiums, twenty-seven
inches apart.
 Twelve-foot Bed

T hree Ricini in group, equal distance apart. First row, three feet
out, scarlet Salvias, twenty inches apart; second row, twelve
inches out, white-flowered Vincas, twelve inches apart. Edge with
scarlet Phlox Drummondii or blue Tom Thumb Ageratum, six inches
apart.
 Nine-foot Bed of Ornamental Grasses

L arge clump of Arundo Donax in centre. First row, three feet out,
three Erianthus Ravennæ, six feet apart; second row, twelve
Eulalia gracillima univittata, two feet apart.
 Eight-foot Bed

A large clump of Setaria magna in the centre. First row, Coix

lachryma, eighteen inches apart; second row, twenty inches out,
Pennisetum Ruppellianum, eighteen inches apart.

I cannot too highly recommend the planting of ornamental grasses

on the lawn. They are extensively used in parks and in other public
grounds, but not nearly so extensively as they should be on private
grounds. Many of them are perfectly hardy, and once established
grow in beauty from year to year; others in the Northern States may
be easily wintered in the cellar, while still others may be cheaply and
easily raised from seed each year.
 Chapter TWO
Soils

I n every garden the matter of soil is of first importance. In case of

an outdoor garden the existing conditions will largely determine
the class of plants to be grown.
A good loam—that is a non-coherent mixture of clay and sand with a
proportion of such decayed vegetable matter as leaves and the
fibrous roots of grasses—is the best garden soil, being what is
termed warm and early. Soil containing a good proportion of sand is
warm, while a preponderance of clay makes what is known as cold
or wet soil.
If there is good drainage, cold soil can be rendered lighter, sandier
and more friable by the liberal application of manure, which in two
or three years will quite change its character. But this is a long time
to wait, and to get quick results it will be necessary, after laying out
the garden and outlining the beds, to remove the earth to a depth of
twenty inches or more, filling in with soil suitable for the class of
plants to be grown in each bed. In the beds intended for Roses,
however, the clay may be left, as Roses require this soil. Where it is
not present it should be supplied and added to each year, as the
heavy manuring which Roses require constantly reduces the relative
proportion of clay. For the Pansy bed nothing better than leaf-mould
from the woods can be procured. For this bed remove six or eight
inches of earth, spade in a good supply of old, well-rotted manure
from the cow-stable, top-dress with several inches of leaf-mould.
You will have a bed that will give magnificent Pansies and few
weeds. For the Salvia, Canna, Ricinus, Caladium and other strong-
growing plants no soil is better than the muck or peat of swamps—
soil composed of partly carbonised vegetable matter decomposed by
the action of water. Leaf-mould consists of vegetable matter which
has decayed without being submerged, and it usually contains a
liberal quantity of sharp, white sand, to which it owes its friable,
non-adhesive character. Leaf-mould is commonly found around
decayed stumps and in hollow places in the woods, where the leaves
have drifted and decayed. It is ready for immediate use. Muck or
peat, however, which is found in bogs and swamps, is unfit for
garden use when freshly dug—except for aquatic plants—being
tough and fibrous. It should therefore be dug during the summer,
thrown in a heap and left for the winter frost to rot and render
tractable. For immediate use the best method is to place it in a deep
hole in the bed and cover with several inches of loam, or old muck.
If this is kept worked or mulched to exclude air and retain the
moisture in the muck, excellent results may be secured. The bed
may also be partly filled with muck and covered with loam, the
whole object being to prevent the muck drying out into hard lumps,
as it will, when green, on exposure to sun and air. The following
spring the loam may be spaded into the muck, giving a warm,
mellow, exceedingly rich soil that will grow anything. The importance
of starting out with good soil cannot be too strongly urged. It seems
at first sight to call for a considerable expenditure of time and
money—especially where the earth must be purchased and the
labour paid for—but in the long run it is a decided saving.
With unsuitable soil there must be many failures, resulting in loss of
both plants and seeds, and this in itself is no small expense. The
labour of caring for such a garden is many times greater, for the top-
dressing of manure required produces an incessant crop of weeds,
which must be removed, not once, but many times during the
summer, while beds filled with leaf-mould or muck need but one or
two weedings. The weeds which grow naturally in these soils do not
flourish in the open ground. A few Smartweeds and Nettles may be
expected in the one case, and Violets and Spring-beauties in the
other. In the manured garden soil an endless procession of Purslane,
Malice, Ragweed and the like must be constantly watched for. The
presence of clay and gravel in the soil always renders it hard and
given to caking, necessitating frequent cultivation; while muck-beds,
after the preliminary spading in the spring, remain free and mellow
throughout the season.
Replacing soil presents more difficulties to city dwellers than to those
living in the country, or in small towns, but, as there are in the
vicinity of most of our cities rich peat lands, it ought not to be
difficult to obtain one or two loads of this useful material. Near the
small towns are always to be found farmers who own or live near
marsh-land, and can supply muck, especially where they have been
ditching. A good waggon-load may be had at prices ranging from
fifty cents to two dollars, according to the distance to be hauled. The
cost in the city would, of course, be much greater.
It is well for the amateur gardener to learn early in her experience to
keep her eyes open to all things pertaining to the success of the
garden. When driving, note the marsh-lands easily accessible from
the highway, especially where they have been ditched or partially
reclaimed, and interview the owner or tenant. In the dull season on
the farm the owner of such soil may be glad to earn an extra dollar
or two, and it may also be suggested to the farmers’ boys, who have
marsh-and wood-lands, that they may earn pocket-money by calling
on people known to be cultivating flowers or building new homes, to
solicit their orders. Many people who grow flowers do not know
where to apply for earth, and an advertisement in a local paper
would, doubtless, prove advantageous to customer and purveyor. On
hillsides along the road, and places which the rain has washed, one
may gather quantities of pure white or grey sand for potting. Yellow
sand is not suitable for such use, as it contains much clay and cakes
badly after watering, while the white or grey sand remains line and
loose.
Leaf-mould is not so readily procurable, as it must be gathered from
suitable patches through the woods, and the farmers do not like to
bother with it. Besides, they are likely to dig up much undesirable
under-soil. It is better to go one’s self for this. A still better way is to
make your own leaf-mould. Thus: when sod is removed from the
ground for any purpose, shake out the fine soil that adheres to it for
future use; or slice off the fine roots with a sharp knife just below
the crown of the grass. This is known as fibrous loam, and, in
combination with leaf-mould, old manure and fine, sharp sand,
makes the very finest potting soil. Throw the tops of the sods in a
heap in some out-of-the-way corner and add the rakings of the yard
in fall and spring, all weeds pulled during the summer, all vegetable
refuse, potato-parings, apple-peelings, corn-husks, and berry-hulls—
anything that has vegetable matter and will decay. All dish-water
and slops that are not needed on the garden may be thrown on the
pile, which should be turned over occasionally during the winter. By
the following spring you will have the finest kind of leaf-mould. Not
all of the pile will have decayed, but along the sides and underneath
it will be found ready for use. Add to it every bit of available
vegetable matter during the year, including the annual flowers pulled
up after their season of bloom, the tops of such root-plants as
Cannas, Caladiums, Gladioli, etc., and you will soon have a supply
quite adequate to the needs of an ordinary garden. Where there are
water-works the hose may be turned on frequently to hasten
decomposition. If it is impossible to replace all poor soil in the
garden with better, by the addition of leaf-mould and manure, much
may be accomplished in the way of building up the old and
rendering it suitable.
If the plot to be used can be ploughed up, well manured, and sown
to clover, the clover turned under in the fall, a good top-dressing of
manure given, and the whole turned again in the spring, the soil
should be in good garden condition.
Where the soil is a good, warm loam the addition of fertilisers will
always give excellent results, though there is the disadvantage of
weeds and extra cultivation to consider. The first cost of suitable
earth is great, but it pays in the end in the saving of fertilisers,
labour, expensive seeds and flowers.
 Chapter THREE
Fertilisers

F ertilisers in the form of animal manures, chemicals or vegetable

matter come next in importance to a good soil. Horse, cow,
sheep, and poultry droppings are the cheapest and most direct in
results. Of the four, cow manure is probably the best for the majority
of plants, especially Pansies, Iris, Violets, Ferns and others which
love a cool soil. Cow manure is known as a cool manure, and is
suitable for a warm or sandy soil. Horse manure, which is more
heating, especially when from young stock, is better on cold or
clayey soil, as it has the effect of breaking up the adhesiveness of
the clay and promoting the formation of sand. Hen manure is very
warm and is therefore most suitable for cold soils. Sheep manure is
especially desirable for Roses and house-plants, about one part
manure to six of earth being the proportion.
Good results may be obtained by the use of any or all of these, if in
the proper condition and judiciously applied. Manure is in proper
condition when it has passed completely through the heating or
fermenting stage. Fresh manure should never be placed where it, or
the water that leaches from it, can possibly come in contact with the
plants; manure should be six months or, better still, a year old
before being used. Old and well-rotted manure has much the
appearance of rich, black earth, and is readily assimilated by the
plants. It should be fine and free from such rough litter as corn-
stalks, cobs, and long straws, and should be thoroughly mixed with
the soil. As manure is full of the seeds of weeds and grasses, it is
better, when applying it in the spring, to remove a portion of the
top-soil and work the manure into the subsoil by spading, and then
to return the top-soil. This will prevent their germination and save a
great deal of weeding during the summer.
Manure that retains its original form is too fresh to use and should
be thrown in a heap and frequently forked over to hasten
decomposition. It will be fit by another season, but older stuff must
be procured for present use. Where there is room it is a wise
provision to keep a pile of manure from year to year, in order to
avoid the inconvenience of looking for it when you need it. No better
expenditure can be made by the gardener than in purchasing several
loads of old manure, when it is discovered in some neighbouring
barn-yard. If one has no supply and must purchase, the matter
should be attended to in the fall at latest, to allow ample time for
saving it. Farmers usually draw the manure on the land as it
accumulates, so that it is difficult to obtain in the spring.
Ashes contain a certain amount of phosphates, which tend to
sweeten the soil. They are also beneficial in increasing the strength
or stiffness of the stalks, and for this reason are valuable for Aster
and Gladiolus beds; they should never be mixed with manure, as is
frequently done, but should be strewn over the surface of the soil
after the other fertilisers are worked in. Ashes mixed with manure
release the ammonia of the latter, depriving it of one of its most
valuable properties. Ammonia itself is not a fertiliser but a stimulant,
creating in the plant a desire for the food stored up in the manure—
in other words, an appetiser. Plants, like people, will not eat unless
they have an appetite, and manure mixed with ashes is poorer and
much less valuable in every way to the farmer and gardener. Soot is
another excellent chemical fertiliser, adding much to the richness of
colour in both flower and foliage. Apply either dry or mixed with the
surface-soil, or in the form of a tea made by pouring water over the
soot in a vessel. Draw off the liquid after the mixture has settled and
apply it around the roots of the plants, taking care that it does not
touch the foliage. It is especially good for Pansies and Roses.
Manure-water is a good way to apply animal fertiliser, as it is fairly
free from the seeds of weeds, which constitute the chief drawback
to the solid form. To prepare it take a water-tight barrel or half-
barrel and put a spigot in the side near the bottom. Place three or
four inches of clean straw in the barrel, letting it come well up above
the spigot, then fill half full of manure. It is not necessary that the
manure should be so very old; it needs only to have passed the
fermentation period. Fill the barrel with water. Fit a tight cover over
it and it is soon ready to use. As long as the liquid runs the colour of
coffee or a strong tea the manure will not need renewing, and more
water may be added from time to time, but when it shows signs of
exhaustion empty the barrel, put the refuse on the compost heap
and fill the barrel as before. If the liquid is to be used on pot-plants
it will be better to use boiling water in the barrel to destroy the eggs
and chrysalis of the white-worms and other larvæ that infest the
manure; or add a half teaspoonful of Paris green to the water. The
first drawings from the barrel should be well diluted before using,
especially when applied to dry soil. If hen manure is used, it should
be made much weaker than other manures, as it is very heating and
likely to burn the roots of plants. A convenient way to handle the
manure barrel is to carry a watering-pot of water to the barrel each
time, emptying it in at the top and drawing off a corresponding
amount at the spigot—in this way the barrel is kept constantly full
and extra steps saved. Liquid manure may also be prepared by filling
a pail half full of manure, adding boiling water, and dipping off the
liquid when the sediment is settled.
 MANURE WATER IS A GOOD WAY TO
APPLY ANIMAL FERTILISER

After a heavy rain there will often be a pool in some corner of the
barn-yard where sufficient liquid manure may be dipped up to fill a
barrel or hogshead. Where the barn-yard is paved with cobble-
stones—as all barnyards should be, for health and cleanliness—a
catch-basin may be easily arranged which the natural slope of the
land will fill when it rains. This will more than pay for the trifling
outlay for its construction, as it need only be a depression in the soil,
covered with cement. Even stiff clay will answer. It is surprising how
carelessly farmers let such valuable property go to waste while they
buy load after load of manure at the stables in town and haul it long
distances. The yield of the strawberry-and asparagus-beds alone
would be sufficiently increased to pay for such a catch-basin many
times over.
Soapsuds furnish another excellent fertiliser, and every drop of water
from the wash-room, bed-room and kitchen should be saved and
applied around the roots of plants—especially Roses, Dahlias, and
vines, which never seem to get enough of either moisture or
nourishment. Slop-water should not be put on the foliage of plants,
as it leaves a scum that is difficult to get rid of.
A very good substitute for commercial bone-meal may be
manufactured at home by saving all the bones from the kitchen,
throwing them into a stone jar, covering them with strong lye, and
allowing them to remain until soft enough to be pulverised and dug
into the soil. The lye that remains may also be applied to the soil
after being diluted with water. Blood obtained at the slaughter-house
is an excellent fertiliser, containing much easily assimilated plant
food in a soluble form. Feathers contain much valuable material in
the way of phosphates, but are not suitable for the annual beds.
They may be applied to shrubs and hardy perennials by digging
them into the ground at a little distance from the plants, where the
roots will reach out and find them. Hoof-parings from the blacksmith
shop are also valuable for the perennial bed. Indeed, with all the
forms of plant food available there is no excuse for starving plants.
There are, of course, many commercial plant foods and fertilisers on
the market, bone-meal and guano being the most reliable among
them, but many of them are expensive and uncertain in their action.
Being highly concentrated they are likely to do harm in the hands of
the inexperienced. The natural manures are the safest.
In using liquid manures either on the open ground or on potted
plants, they should only be applied when the soil has been well
watered the day before, never when it is dry. The plant, being
supplied with all it needs to drink, absorbs only what it requires for
nourishment and is less likely to be injured by an overdose. The
moisture in the soil serves also to reduce the strength of the
manure.
In applying old cow or horse manure to new beds a wheel-barrow
load to every nine square feet is not too much for strong growing
plants such as Ricinus, Cannas, and Salvias. Half that quantity of hen
manure will be sufficient.
 Chapter FOUR
The Hotbed, Cold-Frame and Sand-box

T he hotbed is an enclosure, affording bottom heat and protection

from cold, for the propagation of tender plants unsuited to
sowing in the open ground, and for starting plants too early in the
season for open-air operations. The hotbed is usually started in
February or March in the latitude of Philadelphia, while April is early
enough in the latitude of Detroit and Chicago. Plants are transferred
to the open ground when all danger of frost is past. With the
exception of a few plants like Poppies, which do not bear
disturbance, all seeds yield better results if planted where they have
protection in their early stages from drying wind, burning sun and
nipping cold. This protection the cold-frame gives, while the hotbed
affords the additional advantage of artificial heat. Plants thus started
will be ready to transplant about the time seeds could be started in
the open ground—an important gain in northern latitudes, where,
between the early and late frosts there is hardly time for the
maturing of annuals.
The hotbed should be situated on the south side of a building, wall
or fence, where it will have the full benefit of the sun and be
protected from cold winds. It is also desirable that the land should
slope toward the south, that all surface water may drain away, and
that the bed may receive the greatest amount of sunshine during
the day. In constructing a hotbed dig a pit two feet deep. This may
be lined with planks or bricks, or left with its earthen walls. Over this
build a frame of rough lumber around four posts of three-or four-
inch stuff, three feet two inches high in the back, and two feet eight
inches high in the front. If the pit is not lined, this will bring the
frame below the surface and allow a sufficient slant for the free
shedding of water and the concentration of the greatest amount of
sunshine on the bed. Regular hotbed sash are three feet by six, and
cost about two dollars and seventy-five cents each, glazed and
painted. These are usually arranged to rest on the frame, simply
sliding up and down, the size of the bed determining the number of
sash. A bed three by six, however, is more easily handled than a
larger one; and two or more beds, set end to end, or one long,
narrow one divided by partitions into three-by-six beds, will be more
satisfactory in every way than a wider one. The partitions are
necessary, not alone to strengthen the frame and support the sash,
but to insure to each section the special treatment it requires. Not all
seeds germinate in the same temperature, or require the same
degree of moisture. There is, also, a great difference in the period of
germination; some seeds sprout in from three to five days; others
require as many weeks. With separate sections seeds of similar
habits and requirements may be planted together.
Florists’ sash makes an expensive hotbed, and quite as satisfactory
results may be obtained by using such old window-sash as may be
picked up for about twenty-five cents apiece where buildings are
being torn down or from junk or hardware dealers. Old sash will
probably need some glazing and painting, and these are among the
things the amateur gardener should learn to do for herself, as sash
must be water-tight and in order at all times. A sudden hail-storm, a
mischievous cat or careless handling may leave one with broken
glass that must be replaced at once. When old sash is used the back
of the frame should be higher than the sides by the thickness of the
sash, so that the sash may be fastened to it with hinges if desired. A
cross-piece from the back to the front for the sash to rest on will
give greater stability and prevent draughts of cold air on a sudden
fall of temperature.
 WHEN PLANTS APPEAR
TOO THICKLY IN THE
ROWS, TRANSPLANT

A WELL-CONSTRUCTED
HOTBED

Having constructed the pit, fill it with fresh manure from the horse-
stable—that from young, grain-fed stock being best. It must be
perfectly fresh, gathered from the stalls in the morning, and should
be mixed with a quantity of litter—long straw or leaves. This serves
as fuel, insuring a continuous heat. Without it the heat germinated
by the manure would quickly die out and the bed become cold.
Throw the manure loosely into the frame, close the sash and wait for
fermentation or heating. This should take place in from twelve to
twenty-four hours; if longer than that it will be as well to throw out
the manure and begin again, making sure this time that the manure
is absolutely fresh. When the thermometer by rising to 100 or more
degrees shows that fermentation is well under way, the manure
should be well tramped down, as level and smooth as possible. Over
this place a couple of inches of fine, old, well-rotted manure. This
will afford nourishment for the young plants should they make
sufficient growth to need it, or on account of stress of weather be
detained in the hotbed longer than expected. If this is not supplied
the tender roots of the plants are apt to go in search of the crude
manure in the bottom of the hotbed, and be injured by contact with
it. When plants that have come up thrifty suddenly turn yellow and
look as if they had been scalded, though sufficiently protected from
the sun, it is probable that their roots have been burned by the
manure. This may be determined by digging down to the roots. If
they have reached the manure the cause is evident; other plants in
the same beds, with shallower roots, it will be observed, are not
affected in the same way. As this is not likely to happen until the
plants have made considerable growth the season will probably be
enough advanced to permit of planting out, especially with
protection at night, or they may be transplanted into the cold-frame
until the weather is warm. Such mishaps seldom occur, but when
they do, they must be met promptly. Few plants will make over four
inches of roots before transplanting, and when they reach the old
manure they usually spread out without going deeper.
To return to the construction of the hotbed: Cover the manure with
four inches of rich, fine loam, free from rough lumps and stone; it
would better be put through a sand-or coal-sieve if not mellow and
fine. Make as level as possible, and place a thermometer in the soil
to register the temperature. When it has risen to 90 degrees or
above, and then fallen to 75 or 70 degrees, the seed may be sown.
In planting seed it is best to use narrow strips of wood to separate
the different varieties. This prevents mixing and running together
when watered. It is impossible to distinguish between different
varieties of Asters, Ageratums and Pansies once they have become
mixed. Where one lives within reach of a box factory narrow strips of
wood—admirable for this purpose—of uniform width and very thin,
may be readily obtained. It is best to begin at the upper right-hand
corner with seeds that require the most time to germinate, labelling
each section plainly with name, date and the period of germination.
Flowers that make the tallest growth may be placed against the back
with advantage—as Cobæa scandens, Ricinus, the Dolichos, Cosmos,
and the like; giving them the advantage of the extra light and
keeping them from withholding the light from the plants in front of
them.
Coarse seeds should be planted in drills and covered to twice their
depth. A furrow may be scratched with a sharp stick from an eighth
to a half-inch deep, and the seed sown thinly in it, the earth being
replaced and pressed firmly down with a piece of wood. This is
important, as it brings the seed in close contact with the earth, and
the tiny sprout can lay hold of it at once when germination takes
place. Many seeds of weak germinating power are lost when sown in
loose, coarse soil by failure to obtain immediate contact with the
nourishment contained in it.
Fine seeds like Petunias, Nicotianas and Ageratums must be sown
broadcast in little squares reserved for them. Sow on the surface,
press into the soil with a piece of board and merely sift fine sand
over.
A piece of thin wood eight or ten inches long and four or five inches
wide, with a handle on one side, will be found very useful to press
the soil down quickly and firmly. This should be an adjunct to every
well-regulated hotbed. So should a thermometer, hung on the back
wall of the hotbed, the bulb level with the soil. After the seeds are all
sown, if the soil is at all dry, sprinkle carefully with a rubber sprinkler,
or a whisk-broom dipped in water and shaken over the bed. Do not
use the watering-pot, as it will wash the seed out of the ground.
When the plants are up and of some size the watering-pot may be
resorted to, but not before. When all the seeds are sown as directed
cover with newspapers and close the sash.
The most careful attention must now be given the hotbed. If the
temperature rises above 75 degrees in the warmest part of the day
the sash must be raised an inch or two. In doing this, if the wind is
cold, it will be best to slip a strip of wood between the sash and
frame on the windward side, or protect the opening on the windward
side with a bit of carpet.
When the seeds in any particular plot show a single pair of leaves,
remove the paper over that much of the bed, still shading from the
sun during the hottest part of the day by a bit of paper on the glass
directly over the plants. When the plants appear too thickly in the
row, transplant them as soon as they have their second leaves into
other rows between the first, or into another hotbed or cold-frame.
Encourage vigorous growth by giving room to develop and as much
air and light as possible.
As soon as the plants are of sufficient size and the weather is warm
enough, remove the sash during the day, replacing it with screens
made of lath. These screens are easily made by nailing strips of lath,
the width of the hotbed, to strips of wood the length of the bed. The
lath should be set its own width apart, and the nails, of which there
should be two in each end, clinched on the under side. Such screens
are a necessary part of the hotbed, and will last for years.
Before transplanting to the open ground these screens should be
removed entirely and the plants left exposed to the weather for a
few days to harden. Screens of chicken netting may be substituted,
if protection from cats, dogs or chickens is needed. If, in the early
stages of the hotbed, drops of moisture gather on the glass, the soil
is too wet and the sash must be raised to allow the surplus moisture
to pass off, avoiding always a cold draught across the bed.
The cold-frame is simply a frame of boards fitted with sash and
placed over a prepared bed of earth. As the bed will be raised
slightly above the surface of the soil, the frame should be set over it,
shutting out the cold from the sides as well as the top. A covered
bed, prepared without heating material, is a cold-frame; and one in
which the heating material is spent is often used as a cold-frame
after it has served its purpose as a hotbed earlier in the season, for
growing Gloxinias and rooting cuttings during the summer, and in
August for sowing Pansy seed for the next summer’s blooming. Cold-
frames are useful to protect beds of such tender perennials as Tea-
roses, Pansies, Canterbury-bells, Foxgloves and Violets. Violets may,
by this means, be kept in bloom during the winter. They are also
useful for bringing forward, early in spring, beds of Hyacinths and
Narcissi. They should be protected by carpets or mattings at night
and during the colder days, and exposed to the heat of the sun on
bright days when the soil is not frozen. When it is, they must remain
covered and thaw out in the dark, to be aired when the weather is
above freezing, but draughts across the bed must be avoided, as
they will certainly blast any buds there may be.
The cold-frame in winter must have good drainage, or much damage
will ensue from water standing around the roots of plants. The
surface of the bed must be above the level of the land outside and a
trifle lower at one corner. From this corner a trench should be dug
having an outlet, or a deep hole may be dug and filled with broken
crockery and stones to carry off all surplus water.
The sand-box is a receptacle for the summer storage of plants which
are not to be bedded out. It is also used to prepare plants for winter
blooming, and for experiments with novelties in house-plants. It is,
finally, the ideal place for rooting cuttings. I have never known a
plant capable of being started from cuttings that would not take root
in the sand-box. Any shallow box that may be reached across easily
is suitable for this purpose; or a deep box may be cut down to six or
eight inches and rendered available, the length depending on the
plants to be accommodated and the room at disposal. The sand-box
should be placed, if possible, in a convenient place on the east side
of the house. Elevate on saw-horses, blocks, posts or a regular
frame to a height easy to reach when sitting in a chair. Fill nearly full
with clean white sand; in this bury the pots nearly to the brims and
keep the sand constantly wet.
Plants that can stand full sunshine—as Geraniums, Crotons,
Heliotropes, etc.—should be placed in front; those requiring more
shade may be in the second row, and those needing the most
against the wall. Vines, also, may be trained against the wall, and
over the sides of the box, if it is desired to make it beautiful as well
as useful. A wooden chair should be placed conveniently near, and
the space underneath may be utilised for ferns, or the storage of
tools and pots.
Once established, the sand-box will be found one of the most
fascinating of spots. Cuttings of all kinds may be thrust into the sand
between the pots—Geraniums, Carnations and Roses in front.
Gloxinias and Begonias—with the leaves laid flat on the sand in the
rear—will quickly take root in it. No one who cultivates a garden, or
house-plants, should try to get along without a work table or bench,
and this should be situated in some cool, shady spot out of doors. It
may be either a large kitchen table or a large packing box, the latter
being preferable, perhaps, as affording shelter for the various tools
used in working. It should be high enough to work at conveniently
when standing up, and a tall stool should be provided for sitting on
when desired, to be pushed under the top of table when not in use.
There should be a shelf underneath, sufficiently roomy to hold a
supply of pots and flats, and, below it, a box of potting soil and one
of fine white sand should be kept ready for use. If the potting soil
lies on the ground it will keep moist in the dryest weather. A tin pail
of pebbles, broken crockery and charcoal for drainage, and a supply
of sphagnum moss should also be kept handy. A trowel, knife,
shears, pencils and a stick—or, better still, a piece of a broken
carving-steel—for pushing a plant out of the pot by inserting it in the
drainage hole when, for any reason, it is not readily removed by
tapping, will greatly lessen the labour of repotting and shifting
house-plants in summer.
A shallow tray, with a bail of wood, large enough to hold a number
of pots, will be useful to carry plants from the potting table to the
sand-box, and will save many steps. With a well-equipped table to
depend on and no litter around the house, one is much more likely
to give plants necessary attention promptly. The work then becomes
a pleasure instead of a labour to be dreaded. There, too, may be
kept the supply for staking plants. The nicest stakes for house-plants
are made of Cat-tail stems, any quantity of which may be gathered
in the fall and stored away for future use, each stalk furnishing two
or three stakes. Being round and smooth they are sightly and just
what is needed for Carnations, Freesias and the like.
 Chapter FIVE
Purchasing of Seeds

B uying seeds is largely a matter of experience. So glowing are the

descriptions in the numerous catalogues sent out that one may
easily be led into ordering many worthless novelties, and many
desirable ones for which there is neither room nor sufficient
knowledge of their wants to grow them successfully. Cheap
collections, where one is requested to send ten cents for a catalogue
and twelve packages of seeds, are worst of all.
In buying flower-seeds, as in everything else, one never gets
“something for nothing”—not even experience, and cheap seeds
usually prove a very poor investment; the only safeguard is to buy of
trustworthy dealers whose seeds are offered at fair prices. Take, for
instance, Pansy seed: one ought not to expect to buy a fine mixture
in a full-size packet—two hundred and fifty seeds—for less than
twenty-five cents, while such varieties as Giant Trimardeau and Giant
Cassier should be fifteen cents or more, according to the place of
purchase. A few of the old favourites—like the Snow Queen—may be
bought in packets costing from three to five cents and prove good
value. But generally speaking, packets selling for less than five cents
are to be looked upon with suspicion. Seeds bought at the grocer’s
or other local dealer’s are likely to be old or inferior stock—the better
class of seedsmen selling direct to the consumer only. At the end of
every season seedsmen have a large stock left over. The best
concerns destroy these, but the less scrupulous put them up as
prizes for advertising purposes, or sell them to the local dealers.
Welcome to our website – the perfect destination for book lovers and
knowledge seekers. We believe that every book holds a new world,
offering opportunities for learning, discovery, and personal growth.
That’s why we are dedicated to bringing you a diverse collection of
books, ranging from classic literature and specialized publications to
self-development guides and children's books.

More than just a book-buying platform, we strive to be a bridge

connecting you with timeless cultural and intellectual values. With an
elegant, user-friendly interface and a smart search system, you can
quickly find the books that best suit your interests. Additionally,
our special promotions and home delivery services help you save time
and fully enjoy the joy of reading.

Join us on a journey of knowledge exploration, passion nurturing, and

personal growth every day!

ebookbell.com