Milford chronicle., 1910-03-18

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 ii 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 redr tlon Of temperature.
A cold frame is almost as necessary
as a hotbed. The plants raised in a
hothed are very tender and are liable
to be injured II transpIanted directly
to the garden The cold frame is
made the same as a hotbed except that
no manure is used After the plants
have obtained a good start in the hot.
bed they should be transferred to the
cold frame. The plants I'm the cold
frame are gradually accustomed to
the outside air by leaving the sash np
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 a num-
Der in sand somewhere where they
will get plenty Of light This should
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 of the sprouts which
have started. A 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-
mre. When digging time comes the
straw can be thrown back and the po-
tatocs will be found ON top Of the
ground. or nearly so OF course this
plan is not practicable except for "a
few rows OF the earliest potatoes.
Rhubarb ard 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 /
there is nothing else available. Rhu-
barb comes nearer 10 being a fruit,
making appetizing sauce aud pies
In starting an asparagus bed the land
should be manured 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 ln giving it a thorough disking
After the cutting season is over lib
aral coating Of manure should be scat
cred between the rows The stalks
should be cut in the fal before the
berries are fully ripe to keep the bed
rom becoming filed with seedlings
Asparagus raunot be cut much before
{ is three years old Rhuharb is easily
grown from roots planted around iu
iny ont OF the way corner and kept
we'll muIched and manured.
IN planting the garden those plants
which have the same habits Of growth
should De put together The early
rops should also be- punched as much
is possible In some cases an early
rop may be GOT out OF the way in time
o put n later one on the same ground
Cultivation.
The garden should be laid out in long
Ows and as much OF the cultivation
is possible done with horse culti-
.ator one horse walking cultivator
5 best for this work. \ wheel hoe to
ret close TO the plants and into the
orners is a valuable addition to the
quipment AS a last resort a hand
zoe may have to be used once in
while to get the weeds out of the
Ow. Changing the garden to a new
lace every few years is a big help in
eeping weeds in check If the garden
S put on clean soil in the first place
nd few weeds are allowed to 20 to
eed the labor problem will be greatly
implied
Insects.
or all the insects that attack garden
rops the one that probably causes the
lost trouble is the striped cucumber
eetle A practice often followed
rherp but few hills of vine crops
re grown is to cover the young plants
nth a frame Of mosquito netting A