ROCK GARDENS

Rock, Marsh, Shrubs in the Garden
Plants 5

Seeds may be sown slightly deeper out-of-doors than under glass, as the rain is liable to wash out any with too sparse a covering. A good rule is to cover the seeds with a layer of earth twice their own thickness. Do not pat down the soil after the seeds have been planted. Seeds sown in heavy clay soil must not be placed so deep as those planted in medium loam; while in sandy soil a covering of nearly twice that given in a heavy soil will be required. Do not plant the seeds too deep, however, as if so planted, and they ever reach the surface at all, they will have used up most of their strength and energy and will make weak, straggly seedlings. Should the soil of the seed-bed be very dry, the seeds should be soaked over night in warm water. Watering the Seeds. As soon as the seeds have been covered, give them a good watering from a can with a very fine rose; the rose must be very fine or the seeds may be uncovered and washed away. Keep the soil uniformly moist, but not too wet; over-watering causes the seeds to rot and is the most frequent cause of failure. A few strands of black cotton, supported on small sticks, should be stretched across the bed to keep the birds away. If, before planting, the larger seeds are steeped in a weak solution of paraffin or red-lead, neither mice nor birds will trouble much about them. Thinning-out and Transplanting. In a month or so the seedlings should be large enough to be pricked-off. This should always be done at the earliest possible moment. Delay in thinning and transplanting means that the seedlings become drawn-up and weakly; when they are eventually moved, the fibrous roots become torn and the seedlings will take much longer to become established. They will, in fact, never make such sturdy plants as those transplanted at the right time. In order that the roots shall not be torn, the seed-bed should be watered the evening before the day on which thinning is to take place. The seedlings should be raised from the seed-bed by means of a small fork; each seedling may then be separated from its neighbors without any damage to its roots, and should be planted very firmly, by means of a small trowel, in a hole just large enough to receive the roots without cramping This is not, as a rule, advisable for alpines, but may be quite success-fully carried out in the case of some of the more easy and vigorous kinds. Weather for Sowing.

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