The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.

, each fellow has some special thing to talk about. Albert will have an a

lue paper is called litmus paper. I got it at the drug store for ten cents. Just look right

s quick as sc

it. I've tried several acids at home. It works ever

his has to do with g

t you fellows heard your fathers talk abou

where sorrel grows thick; father

hat farmers tell a sour bit of land. Weeds grow thickly over such ground

to get a little soil from our future garden plot, and I'll find out right now if it's acid." Albert opened a

d I'll finish what I have to say. If soil i

to what?"

isn't acid," Albert cont

ue, "Get that big bottle over there, Albert." Albert

he Chief handed Peter a

te like much of any

to one which is exactly opposite to the acids, the alkalies. Soils ought to be neither acid nor alkaline, but neutral, as it is called. An alkali

stedly to see the effect. "Back again," san

ome the acid conditions of Albert's p

aid Jack,

lbert, if the paper

eld up the piece of litmus paper, now q

o see what you have to do. Did you

said for clay soils 400

"for that special piece of land

f lime," asked Jac

bert, "there are 70 pounds to the

roposition

that changes matters a little. How much is li

y a drain pipe through your land. Anyway I shall

l hear from you,

a dozen each of different seeds, put blotters in dishes, wet the blotters, and placed the seeds on the

GERMINAT

5-10

7-10

e 5-10

12-18

10-20

ce 6-

7-10

6-10

r 9-1

h 3-6

o 6-1

p 4-8

germinating table is, anywa

raged, you plant more seed. Now two days later the first carrots you sowed begin to appear. If you had known that it took carrots from 12 to 18 days to germinate you'd not have made the mistake of planting again so soon. I think o

be wrong," a

ting seed," said Jay, "and he might tell us about it now, cou

n and some from four years ago. So I took 100 seeds of each. If you test small seed like lettuce, The Chief says 50 seeds will do. These I put on blotters just as Pete did his. Of course, I kept them separate. From last year's seed 90 seeds sprouted out of the 100, or 9/10 of them. And that equals 9

of germination that seeds sh

ard germination value for corn is 87 per cent., for beans 90, for turnips 90, for peas 93, etc. You can see

I did not have the old seed to work with," replied George, "but The Chief gave me a book to look it up in. I have

printing press that he had presented to th

GE'S

S FOR PLANT

years. 5-6 ye

Pea (5-6

uce Radish

urnip (3

Pum

ma

pp

n

rs

gged, "give us a table o

ut the value of his own old seeds

of earth. George, you plant six kernels of corn one inch deep and mark the box with your name and the depth on it, Peter, plant the next box with six kernels at two inches.

nt, which took about two we

ANTING TIME

. 8?

. 10

. 12

. 13

ys that seeds too deeply plan

ake the floor now

cessary to plant a certain space. I have printed my table ju

drill?" a

ke handle, or a hoe. We can show you better when we get

EED-ESTIM

THOD OF

RILLS QUAN

) D 1 qt.

1 oz. f

1 oz. for

1 oz. f

qt. for 1

1 oz. fo

H 1 oz. f

1 oz. fo

1 oz. fo

oz. fo

oz. for 2

peck for

1 oz. fo

1 oz. f

oz. for 1

1 oz. f

if a fellow doesn't know quite how far apart to plant h

e about things. But if a person didn't know what you ask, Philip, I sup

es. Next time each of you boys look up this matter. Perh

ime to see Jack's coldframe plans, before club time is over," at which Jay s

ll plant one by itself; the two others together in a clump. I wanted forsy

asked

hat it seemed to me, since I must plant this spring, I'd disturb less a later flowering shrub. I chose the Japan snowball because it's less liable to have lice than some others and because it looks well all by itse

is knowledge, Philip?" as

shrubs in a catalogue, then I called on a

Philip looked happy and Peter nearly tilted his chair over i

bring on the

crowded about. "You look at the drawing as I explain. Myron and Jay have promised to help

broke i

tunity to air his newly acquired knowledge. "The Chief has talked this over with me. It all depends upon what you wish to use the frame for. I want to use mine to get an early start this spring, so I make the bed rich and depend on the sun's rays mostly for heat. This, then, is a coldframe. The sloping glass frame h

you say layer of heat? I sho

al gardeners call it that. We may as well us

a good piece of work so far. We shall have most of our next meeting in the workshop. Jack, Myron and Jay are

dibber?" as

any old rake or hoe handles bring them al

hey scampered-a joll