Evening star., 1916-08-13

tEvery home that has sufficient ground
should have it's flower garder. Even
VI the available space is no larger
saan a few feet square, the satisfac-
6on and delight one obtains from
sEowing friends the blossoming plants
that are truly our own are not to be
tSrived from anything else. 1t is
Than lack of time or space that keeps
the average home from possessing this
most charming adjunct.
Plants of practically every kind that
Noon in this region may be grown
cheaply and satisfactorily at home if
one really wants to produce them, and
the satisfaction of having these home
grown plants oUtweighs by far the
trouble OF growing them.
MANY of the perennials do best when
the seeds are sown In late autumn in
8cold frame. Protected from the snow.
dNring the winteH the seeds will
terminate and the seedlings, thinned
and transplanted, will make SLOW,
Gteady growth and be ready to set out
III permanent positions in early spring.
TO prepare a suitable cold frame re-
quires small expenditure and little
labor. Naturally cold frame sash is
the first requisite. Such sashes usually
come in sizes 6X3 feet: they may be
had either with single or double glass.
the latter requiring no covering even
"a the coolest winter weather We have
In this locality
eFor the cold frame select a well
drained location, Where water is not
likely to stand. Dig out the original
soil to the depth of foot and NIL In
yerized The excavation should be
lust the size of the sash If only
single sash is to be used. and before
it is filled in frame of boards should
81 ha
the sides extending about fourteen
inches above the ground level In front,
and eighteen inches in the back.
In locating the cold frame see that
it faces toward the south or southeast.
In order to insure perfect safety from
freezing bank earth around the SIDES
of the frame up to the top of the boards
or. better still, make two frames. one
being three or four inches OUTSIDE the
other and fill the space between the
frames with earth well packed in.
If the soil for the cold frame is not
sufficiently rich. add quantity OF thor-
oughly rotted manure. that from COW
stable is always best. Add also little
sharp sand and spade and work the
mixture thoroughly. If the extra trou-
BILE and work doesn't matter IT Is a
good plan to run the prepared SOIL
through a sieve or sand screen. which
will reduce it to fine powder and re-
move all humps. clods. stones. etc
After the soil is prepared place II IN
the cold frame, packing it down light
ly. Allow it to stand for several days.
when it will be found to have settled
considerably. Fill up again. and re-
peat the process until the soil in the
bed remains with its surface foot
below the edge of the lower side of
the frame. Then give the surface
good raking. firm down lightly with
the fat side of a board and mark on
the rows for sowing the seeds.
Place the rows four inches apart,
using small labels to separate and IN
dicate different varieties. These labels
are made by writing the names OF the
varieties on smooth slips of soft white
pine six inches long. Whttle one end
Of the slip to point and stick the slip
into the soil at the end of the rows.
Care should be taken in covering the
seeds, as the mistake is often made OF
covering too deeply. Large seeds such
as hollycocks may be covered TO the
depth Of half an inch, while small
seeds, like those OF the poppies. should
not be covered at all. but merely sifted
on top of the soil and pressed down
with a board II is best to cover seeds