The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-02-27
MIR. WEATHERSBEE ON PREPARING AND
 PLANTING GARDEN

superintendent of home and school gar dens, but there may be number of chi dren who do not know how to plant a garden, or how to get their home garden ready.
 The Junior has asked Mr Weathersbee to write all about it for you and this is what he has to say:
 Now is the time to start garden either at home or at school.
 The selection of a proper site is the first thing to consider. We may not be table to choose the very best location for garden, and often we are com pelled to make the best use we can of a poor place; but there are often places so unsuitable for gardening purposes that 1t is best not to attempt to utilize them The writer has seen children's gardens fail in many instances because the en- thusastIc gardener tried to get results under conditions that insured failure in the beginning. Children sometimes fail to realize that an abundant supply of sunlight is absolutely essential to the successful growth of cultivated plants Therefore, if the contemplated garden site receives little or no sunlight, seek a bet ter location with free exposure to sun light Rich, mellow soil is also best for gardening, but we need not give up the idea of making a garden because the soil is poor. An adequate supply of we'll routed stable manure and perhaps leaf mold from the woods, if it can be easily obtained, will make almost any type Of soil productive.
 After a proper site has been selected the next step is to prepare the soil for planting If the garden Is covered with rubbish and coarse litter, this should be cleaned off and burned. or placed where the trash man can haul it off. Vege- table matter that will decay quickly should be turned into the soil for fertilizer if the soil is not sufficiently fertile a good application of stable manure (preferably decayeO, should be scattered evenly over the surface of the garden The soil should then be dug deeply and thoroughly pul- verized For this first work of breaking the spading fork is the most satisfactory tool to use in small garden In using the fork, sink it down into the soil as far as you can and then turn the soil up, breaking the large Jumps with the back of the fork. Go over the whole gar oen in this way, being careful to dig the whole area deeply. Follow the spad- ing with the hoe chopping over the whole surface evenly and breaking up all Jumps of soil. Then rake the soil carefully sev- eral times, until the whole surface is perfectly smooth and the soil particles are in the finest possible shape In work ing the garden always be careful not to dig the soil when it is wet. Breaking up soil when 1t is wet causes it to form into Jumps which will be very difficult to break up again when they are hard ened by the sun. It is always a good idea to test the soil before working it. In order to do this, take a small amount of soil from the garden in the hand and press it. If it sticks together like dough IL IS 100 wet to work; if it crumbles apart
  the proper condition to be worked.
 Every child should make a plan of his garden before planting. If he plans carefully exactly the number of rows of each kind of vegetable he intends to plant, he can estimate very closely the amount of seed he will need. Reference to the 1916 Birmingham Garden Calendar will furnish all needed information re- garding distance of planting, amount of seed needed, varieties, etc. In planning vegetable garden it will also be we'll, in many cases, to provide flower beds and borders to make the garden more attractive
 In planting garden the amateur gar dener should keep in mind the following precautions: Plant seeds at the proper depth. It has been the writer's experi- ence that improper depth of planting has been the cause of more juvenile garden failures than anything else Re- iASiilpcll tiidt dll SIlldll SeeuS, DOCn veg etable and flower, should never be plant cd more than one-half to one-inch deep Many very small flower seeds should just barely be covered with very fine soil Larger seeds, such as beans, corn, seed, potatoes, etc, can be planted two or more inches deep. The attention of chil- dren is especially called to the column headed Depth of Planting" in the Gar den Calendar.
 In order to get the rows absolutely straight a stout line should be used in making the drills or furrows for plant ing If this line is staked at each end of the row, the gardener can run his furrow absolutely straight with garden hoe. A light pointed garden hoe is the best tool to use for opening the furrows for planting small garden seeds. With the pointed end of the hoe open little trench, not more than one inch deep, being careful to keep the furrow straight along the string In this furrow SOW theN seed lightly and uniformly. With a rake cover the furrow level and pack the soil lightly with the back of a hoe. This packing is done to bring the moisture up around the seed and make them germ mate quickly. To plant the next row, measure the proper distance from each end of the first row. move the line over to mark the new row and proceed as be- fore. In planting potatoes, beans corn etc. use the garden line for marking the rows but use heavy breaking hoe to open the furrows, instead of the light garden hoe. in order that the seed may be planted at the proper depth
 Do not let the garden interest die out with the first crop. As soon as one crop has matured plant another in its place. The garden can be made to produca something of value every month in the year in this section.