Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1916-01-22

had for the gathering in most woody
swamps.
When the little seeds have been
thus snugly put to bed, the next
problem is to get them to come up
strong" i'm due course Of time-which
should be from three days to nearly
three weeks, according to variety.
The surest way of doing this is to
find some way of supplying bot
tom heat" as the florists term it.
Where steam, hot water. or hot air
radiator is available, this is easily
arranged; simply place the seed fiat
over it by supporting it with two or
three bricks. Otherwise, the back of
the kitchen range, or large lamp,
or an oil heater, may be utilized,
care being taken in the last case. to
have some metal between the direct
heat of the flame and the fiat, which
should be far enough above it not to
get actually hot on the bottom-just
nice and warm.
Such degree of heat will, of
course, tend to dry the earth out very
rapidly. and this may be counter
acted by placing large pane OF
glass over the box, raised a quarter
of an inch or so at one end. Until
the seeds begin to break ground they
may be kept in the dark as well as
not; in fact, If placed where the sun
light strikes them directly, should be
kept shaded by a piece of newspaper
laid on the glass covering, but the
minute they are up they should re-
ceive all the light possible and be
kept near the window.
Irrigating the Flats.
From the time the seed leaves ap-
pear until the seedlings are big
enough to transplant is the most crit
ical period of plant growth. If the
flats have been prepared as suggested
above, no further watering will be
necessary in most cases until the
seeds have sprouted. If it is neces-
sary, as is indicated by the soil be-
coming light in color and dry to the
touch on the surface, give the nat
another sub-irrigation, or water with
a very fine spray or through a piece
of thick cloth in order that the sur
face may be neither washed nor
'crusted" AS the little seedlings
start along care must be taken not
to overwater; they will do better and
be safer if kept slightly on the dry
side" When water is given, how
ever it should be pretty thorough
soaking, and the sub-irrigation
method is by far the best way of ap-
plying it, as the soil will be thor
oughly wet through. and the foliage
neither wet nor the little seedlings
bent over by the force of water COM
ing in contact with them. If water
ing must be done with a watering
can, be careful to apply it only on a
bright morning, so that the foliage
will become thoroughly dried off be-
fore night Moisture in the cir, as well
as in the soil, is necessary for the
| best results. Where the room is
Il with cfnDT1l hot Ii is
rather difficult to maintain the nor
NAL degree of moisture in the at
mosphere. This unfavorable condi-
tion may be to a large extent coun-
teracted by giving all the fresh air
possible and by evaporating water
near the plants fiat, shallow pans
being best to use for this purpose.
If they can be kept in a bay window
or some similar nook, which may be
shut off from the rest of the room by
curtains or doors, quite ideal sur
lroundings may be provided.
The temperature at which the seed
| lings of most early vegetables and
flowers will thrive should be about
forty-five to fifty at night and sixty
to seventy during the day. When the
| temperature of the room will not be
too much lowered, air should be given
| freely for a while every day, care be-
| ing taken not TO let any COlu uTdlt
strike directly on to the, seed boxes
In many cases the air in the room
may be freshened by opening a door
or window in an adjoining room. II
the plants are kept near a window,
on very cold, windy nights, 1t may be
advisable to move them further into
| the room, or to put a layer or two of
newspapers, which are splendid mon
conductors of cold or heat, between
the glass and the plants. While most
of the seeds sown will do well, as
mentioned above, in a temperature OF
forty-five to fifty at night, there are
several that require fifty-five to sixty,
| to come along as rapidly as they
ought. These include tomatoes, pep
pers and eggplants; melons, cucum-
! bers. corn and lima beans (Which are
sometimes started in paper pots or
on small pieces of inverted sod
packed together in fiat and covered
with fine light SOLD and such heat
needing flowers as begonias, salvias
and heiiotrope. These, fortunately for
the grower of plants in the house,
may come along after the early vege-
! tables: for instance, if cabbage and
! lettuce seed are planted in February
and tomatoes and peppers a month
| later, they will be sprouted about the
| time the former are transplanted, and