The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-01-07
Of Interest To The Farmer, Gard=
 ener And Chicken Raiser

condition as when buried. Yet when treated with slllphuric acid they de- compose within a few hours. That is the principal souTice of yJGnasphate fertilizer today except such as dn1- ported from foreign mines
 Another feature of gardening that may be taken care of at this time is the drainage. If it is found that wa ter in large quantities is collecting ab out the selected ground, and likely to make it cold and wet until late in the spring, means sh oufd be taken for draining it as early as trenches can be dug after thawing weather sets in.
 Gardening today is a science as will be shown by the fact that pro- fessional truck gardeners are able to put their product upon the market before the average home gardner has raised his crop. While the cold- frame and "hot-bed'' is dying out upon the average farm, it will be found that the trucker. has increas- ed the extent of his glass covered area. This will be found upon inves- tigation to be not so much from the standpoint of growing plants first as to test the quality and stock of his seeds. With an opportunity of drying two or three varieties and seed1n ems samples Of the same plant, he is en- abled to choose that which has the best stalk and deepest tap-root Elfn1- fnation follows. with the result that often the local seed dealer or country general store offers for sale to the gardener and farmer what is discard ed by the professional grower
 Although seed tests are simple as far as the vitality and percentage is concerned they are usually discard ed by the average garden owner. or constructed late in the spring. At this time of year seedsrnen are Issuing their catalogues. These can we'll be studied, now that the best seeds Iected and secured. Each should be tested carefully upon receipt for both vitality and percentage.
 A simple contrivance for this pur- pose is an ordinary cigar box which should be filled with clean sand or earth, or even ell-soaked sawdust. The mass should be thoroughly damp ened. A piece of cloth fitting snugly inside the box and about three-quar- ters of an inch beneath the surface should be ruled into squares about an inch across, similar to the surface of a. cnecke board. These should be numbered consecutiye1y. Upon these squares may be put five CT ten seeds to be tested, of various kinds or of the same species from different deal CTS. These should be carefully GOV cred with another piece of cloth, free from ink or dyes and more damp earth, sand or sawdust laid upon the top. Care should be taken not to dis arrange the seeds in covering or dater in uncovering.
 The box, closed, should be placed behind a warm stove and the seeds l left to gerninate which requires from five days to two weeks accord 1 ing to their variety. The average gar dener knows about the time to un- cover, when it will be noted that lit tie sprouts have appeared, more or ] less strong. Where seeds are from a poor dealer it may be that none will have gerrninated. Those squares
 which show the greatest percentage o1 germination and the strongest shoots
 will give the best results when plant ed in the spring and summer
 Although the early vegetables, such
 as radish, lettuce, etc, usually show
 strong and early germination, the
 corn, lima beans, squash, are likely
 to be found varying, and consequent l ly the better results will be found by sprouting these seeds in the kitcher l to insure having strong stock.