The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1909-11-19

the season they may be transferred.
box and all. into the garden bed and
suffer no backset.
During cold nights the hotbed should
be covered with straw or old carpets
to keep it from getting too cold inside.
On sunshiny days the sash may have
to be raised during the warmer part
Of the day to give ventilation. The
plants should be watered in the morn
Ing on warm days only to prevent too
great reduction of temperature
A cold frame is almost as necessary
as a hotbed. The plants raised in a
hotbed are very tender and are liable
to be injured if transplanted directly
to the garden. The cold frame is
made the same as hotbed except that
no manure is used. After the plants
have obtained good start in the hot
bed they should be transferred to the
cold frame. The plants in the cold
frame are gradually accustomed to
the outside air by leaving the sash up
for longer periods each day. This
transplanting also helps the tomatoes
and cabbages in another way. in that
it makes them thicker stemmed and
causes better root development. A
stocky plant Of this kind is always a
better grower and yielder.
Early Potatoes.
A good way to secure earliness in
the case Of potatoes is to pack num-
Der in sand somewhere where they
Of 10Th oh
be done a week or so before planting
time. AS soon as the ground is ready
these tubers are set out carefully so
as not to break off the sprouts which
have started. y week or more in the
earliness of the crop can be saved in
this way. The early potatoes may be
planted rather shallow and a thick
coating of straw placed between the
rows. On nights when there is danger
of freezing. the plants can be covered
with straw. No cultivation will be
necessary, since the straw will keep
the weeds down and conserve mois-
ture. When digging time comes the
straw can be thrown back and the po-
tatOes will be found on top Of the
ground. or nearly so. OF course this
plan is not practicable except for
few rows of the earliest potatoes.
Rhubarb and Asparagus.
Another method of securing early
vegetables is by the use of perennials.
or those which come up from the roots
each year. The most important of
these are asparagus and rhubarb. AS
paragus is one of the most delicious
vegetables that can be grown. and it
fills in a space in the spring when
barb comes nearer to being a fruit,
making appetizing sauce and pies.
In starting an asparagus bed the land
should be MANFRED heavily and plowed
deeply. One year old plants grown
from seed should be planted four
inches deep and a foot apart In rows
three feet apart. The early spring
treatment Of the asparagus bed con-
sists in giving it q thorough disking.
After the cutting season is over lib
eral coating Of manure should be scat
tered between the rows. The stalks
should be cut in the fall before the
berries are fully ripe to keep the bed
from becoming filed with seedlings.
Asparagus cannot be cut much before
1t is three years old. Rhubarb is easily
grown from roots planted around in
any out of the way corner and kept
well mulched and MANFRED.
In planting the garden those plants
which have the same habits Of growth
should be put together. The early
crops should also be punched as much
as possible. In some cases an early
crop may be got out Of the way in time
to put later one on the same ground.
Cultivation.
The garden should be laid out in long
rows and as much Of the cultivation
as possible done with horse cult
vator. A one horse walking cultivator
is best for this work. a wheel hoe to
get close to the plants and into the
corners is valuable addition to the
equipment. AS a last resort q hand
hoe may have to be used once in
awhile to get the weeds out Of the
row. Changing the garden to new
place every few years is big help in
keeping weeds in check. If the garden
is put on clean soil in the first place
and few weeds are allowed to go TO
seed the labor problem will be greatly
simplified.
Insects.
OF all the insects that attack garden
crops the one that probably causes the
most trouble is the striped cucumber
beetle. a practice often followed
where but few hills Of vine crops
are grown is to cover the young plants
with a frame Of mosquito netting. A