Putnam patriot., 1911-04-28

ready for the iron rake-and lots of el- bow grease. Take a strip about as wide as you expect to plant at once, and rake 1t from one end. Make it just as smooth as possible, with back ward-and forward motion of the rake. Rake up just as little sod, stones, and other trash as possible.
 When your strip is thoroughly "fined, and as nearly table. smooth as you can make it, the preliminaries are over, and you are at last ready to plant.
 Before taking up special directions for the various vegetables, 1 want to say word about seed drills, and also give few general rules. No matter how small your garden is, get a com bination seed-dfill and wheel.hoe, if you can possibly afford it. A seed drill will enable you not only to get your seeds in more quickly, and with greater ease, but it will do the job better than can possibly be done by hand. It will open the furrow, drop the seed evenly, cover with moist earth, roll down and drill, and mark out the next row, all with one opera tion, and nearly as fast as you can walk. And then by changing few bolts and nuts, you can convert this same machine into a wheel-hoe, that will save you even more work in culti- vating than the seed drill did in plant ing. You cannot afford not to have one. But in case you are just begin. ming, and do not feel like investing a few dollars this year in one of these machines, keep the following sugges- tions in mind when planting by hand. Seeds as a rule should not be covered more than three or four times their own depth. They should be planted as soon as possible after the ground Is ready, before the surface of the soil has chance to dry out. They should be "firmedn into the ground, either with the edge of board, back of hoe, or by being pressed firmly with the foot, to prevent the formation of air spaces to dry up the newly sprouted rootiets. Great care should be taken to get the rows straight, as cultivation should be begun when the little plants are scarcely up, and 1t will be much faeili- tated by even rows.
 Get stout string and stretch 1t tightly just above the ground for your first row. With hoe handle mark off along it shallow drill, deep enough for whatever seeds you may be plant ing. If seed-drill is being used, il can be adjusted to plant at different depths, as desired. For peas, beans, and other large seeds, it will be neces- sary 10 open up the drill still more, with hoe. There is an implement with heart.shaped blade, called the "Warren hoe,f made especially for opening and covering drills. Sow the seed evenly in the freshly opened ] drills, press down as directed above, and cover level with a hoe, or back of rake. A second firming on top of the row is advisable if the ground Is very dry.
 So much for those vegetables which are planted in the open from seed But many crops may be had several weeks earlier by setting out young plants which have been started ahead, as de- serioed in the next preceding article of this series. If the following few sim pie things are done in the important operation of plant-setting, practical ly every one will live, and they will receive little check in the process. Do this work on cloudy day, or late in the afternoon if you can. If II must be done on . bright hot day, shade the newly ssf plants with news