The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-16

tired working in the garden such a morn
ing as this2 ! looked at the thermometer
at sunrise ana II was registering Is de-
grees. At y o'clock it is Y degrees, and
doubtless will be a few degrees higher be-
fore the maximum is reached This IS
the warmest day of the season thus far
II is perfect. Nothing more need be said.
The rain Of a week ago leaves the soil in
just the condition that / like il for stirring
neither too wet nor too dry. 1t crum-
bles beautifully, allowing the harrow or
rake and the roller TO do their perfect
work.
I know it is early to do it. but could
not resist the temptation TO plant row
of Okra, one Of bush wax beans. one OF
navy and one OF bush butter beans. The
rows are long, that is, for the home gar
den.. They are just eighty yards long,
and there are tWenty-siX rows. "A distance
of three feet between the rows. The first
row on the south is English peas, sown
TO two kinds mixed together-the Little
Gem and the Philadelphia Early. l al
ways NIX two or three kinds together
when / do not intend 10 save seeds. The
peas were doing nicely and were about
siX inches high But, ah me! rabbit
or two found them last night, and made
seast on half of the row. The vines are
BIZ. en or nearly to the ground, but they
viii come up again. If bunny comes back
tonight he or she will not ind so palata-
bic a bite as was the case last night.
have stirred a little kerosene oil in some
fine wheat bran and busted the vines thor
oughly with ii.
Next 10 the peas come row of onions.
An occasional cut-worm has cut off a
plant here and there. While l was dust
ing the peas served the onions the same
way putting on the bran more literally
than on the peas.
7 planted my FIRST Irish potatoes on the
10Th l ind, on digging into the row, that
the sprouts have just started.
The latter part of February and early
part of March has been so warm and
pleasant it makes it extremely likely that
whatever of frost occurs in April will
prove exceedingly injurious to plants thai
have made a quick and tender growth IN
der the influence of the balmy weather
that has prevailed early in March.
But one cannot have an early garden
without taking risks, and If he does not
keep up successive paintings, instead OF
having an early garden, will probably
have later one than some of his neigh
| boTs whose seeds have not come up al
the time of the late frost. The latest date
at which frost has occurred in Middle
| Georgia was on May 5-that is, in the past
| twenty-five years. Some years, though
| frost severe enough TO injure tomato
| plants has not occurred after March II
1 the latitude of Macon.
Some soils, owing to the presence OF
| much clay, are much slower TO warm VI
! than others that are sandy and contain
/ much humus or vegetable matter. 1t is
no use to plant certain crops, vine plants
/ and beans, for instance, until the soil has
become warm, as well as the atmosphere
| From a week or two of abnormally warn
/ weather in February or March, the frs
| two or three inches of soil may be warm
| ed up sufficiently to terminate the seed;
/ of such plants, but the crop VIII not max,
much advance unt:l the lower soil hai
| also become warm. 1 have no doubt /
/ is fact that any young plant subjected
| to chilling temperature or nipped by
! frost is more predisposed to disease ana
/ parasitic insects than those that have
never had their sap so chilled by prema
ture or unreasonable frost.
l always like to transplant the young
plants of cabbage, tomato. pepper ant
| egg plant at least once before the tina
! setting out For early cabbage and othe
crops mentioned, / take up the little plant
| that stand thickly in the original seet
| bed or cold frame, just as soon as the!
| will bear transplanting, and reset in an
| other bed or frame two or three inche
apart, and let them get stocky and well
developed before the final setting. Thi
enables me to reject any imperfect plant
in the case of cabbage such as have los
the bud and will not make a perfect cab
bage. Does 1t pay? l think it does. Tn
early crop of cabbage should be plante
on the level and l think it is a good plal
to set the young plants of the first acre
or first plot or first row, three or fou
times as thick as will be finally left I
grow. The extra plants Will be used late
in charging the plantation, filling Vacan
cies caused by cut-worms, etc. perhap
sold ~ ~ a4-.,
have stocky, well-grown plants to set GU
the moment it is safe to do so. l plan
these in February in cold frame, trans
fer to another frame in March, and plan
them in the open ground the middle Q
April or a little later. To protect tn
young plants from their persistent foe
the flea-beetle, keep the kerosene bran o
its equivalent ready to hand, or it can b
expelled from the frame by turpentin
| fumes.