Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-08
Wonders Wrought by May Sunshine and
the Spring-lime Showers.
USEFUL HINTS FOR THE AMATEURS
WRITTEN FOR THE DISPATCH. ]


| and think of all it holds for you of beauty
and delight, that you are the magician who
will call forth all that sweet pageant from
the silent, passive soil It seems a very
simple thing, the planting of a seed, but
never do it without feeling of awe, as if it
were sacred thing among the mysteries OF
| God. You kneel by the little plot-if the
ground is damp bring mat or piece OF
| folded carpet to kneel on, for you don't
wish to take cold as the first ste p in your
gardening.
How to Plant the Seeds.
You lay your bit of board straight across
the bed about four inches from the end.
You lean one arm on 1t to hold it firm, and
with little stick draw furrow an inch
deep In the earth along its edge, straight
and equal as you can in depth all the way.
Into this begin to drop your seeds as evenly
as may be-they are so large you can see
them distinctly. When you have sown that
turrow make another on the opposite edge
of the board and fill that. Then lift the
board and lay it down carefully on the other
side of the last furrow and again make o
groove along the edge and plant, and so on
board gives you just the right distance be-
tween the rows and saves a deal of trouble
in measuring.
Now with your hand draw over the seeds
the earth that was displaced in making the
furrow; 1t will give them just the right
depth of covering-about twice their d.
ameter. That is the rule for planting al
most all seeds. Now take your board and
lay it over each row, lean on it gently to
make the earth perfectly frm-not packed
hard, but firm. Do this all along the length
of the bed till it is literally smooth as a
carpet Now take your watering-pot and
lightly sprinkle the bed all over Don't
sprinkle too long in one place, or you will
the bed, holding the watering-pot high as
you can to make the shower as gentle as
possible. You need only just to make the
surface damp.
Keeping an Eye on the Weeds.
Water the bed lightly every night at sun
set-unless 1t should rain. If the soft May
showers descend every drop is precious
there is nothing so good as the sweet rain of
heaven for our gardens. If the weather is
warm and your watering is faithfully done,
you should see in a week, or ten davs at
most, faint green shoots along the straight
lines you planted.
And now I will show you the advantages
Of planting so carefully in straight lines
Before the phlox itself appears you will see
green shoots coming up all other the bed,
doubtless. These are the weeds that you
will have to watch and fight with all your
might, for they are stronger and more de-
termined than can find any words to tell
you. While they are yet young pull up
every one. You know where your precious
flowers are-they are safe in their orderly
professions of straight lines. Pull up every
green thing between these lines and then
pass your little handfork like a comb to and
fro in the soil to remove roots and disturb
new sprouts, but be very careful not to go
too near your phlox plants, except to pull
with careful finger and thumb the little
weeds that have sprout ed very near. This
you will have to repeat again and again
new weeds keep coming in succession.
Garden of Sweet Peas.
In the second or third week in May you
may transplant your sweet peas from the
house boxes to the open-air garden. People
do not generally know that sweet peas are
most easily and successfully transplanted.
discovered it for myself accidental yin
fact, was driven to it by my little friend,
the song-sparrow, at the Isles of Shoals.
The place is possessed by these dear,
friendly little birds whose song is sweeter
than words can express, but they will hardly
let me plant at all out of doors, scratching
up and eating the seeds as fast as can put
them in. They are SO tame, they sit on the
fence of my little inclosure and eye me
askance If they see me at work putting
seeds in the ground, and the moment I
leave the spot, or they think l have left it,
down they swoop and go from one end to
the other of my carefully planted burrows
and take every seed, leaving only the empty
hollow groove freshly dug out by their little
feet.
1t is trying, and when I do plant out of
doors I am obliged to have cover of woven
wire to fit over my flower beds to keep off
the dear little pests. They are especially
trying in the case of sweet peas, for they
wait till the peas begin to sprout and then
they devour every single one!
TransplantIng the Little Beauties.
Now for the fun of trans planting! 1t is
the most enchanting work in the world. If
the day is overcast very good, but if it is
the sunniest ever dawned no matter; if you
put down your plants as shall teach you
they will not droop leaf in the hottest
sun. Your little garden bed is all ready,
your boxes of treasures about you. Now
take your hoe and make straight line
about four inches from the edge of your bed,
lengthwise; if you find difficulty in making
it straight, take a string tied to two sticks,
push the sticks into the ground, drawing
the strings tight between, and you will have
your straight line. Take the hoe and cut
down evenly from this line, drawing the
earth toward you and leaving the smooth
cutting six inches deep against which to
stand your plants for support.
Slip your hand into one corner of your
plant box down to the very bottom and take
up carefully few pea plants. Once few
removed, the rest will come up easily,
Don't break the long white roots or dis
lodge the little pea still clinging there it
you can help it. Stand each plant against
the wall you have sliced down smooth with
y our hoe. Put the plants in, not more than
three inches apart, with the roots straight
down, but if very long no matter if the
ends lie horizontally an inch in the bottom
of the trench; draw the earth halt way up
over them loosely so to hold them in place,
and then gently fill the trench with water,
d raw the rest of the earth about the roots,
press it firmly with your hands about each |
separate plant, making each stand perfectly
straight aud even, and be careful that all |
the root is perfectly covered; indeed, the
earth may come up an inch about each slen- |
der stem without doing any harm: This is
delightful work, and when your first row
is done you will look at it with joy and |
pride, SO green, so fresh, so promising it |
will be.
How to Make Pansies Thrive.
You can scarcely make the soil too rich or
keep it too moist for the well-being of pan
sizes. For the enriching of your bed-four
feet, by two wide-I should put q bushel at
least of well-rotted COW manure and mix it
most thoroughly with the soil. And if you
can find spot which the sun reaches for