THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS



XXXI.

THE CARE OF YARDS AND GARDENS.


First, let us say a few words on the _Preparation of Soil_. If
the garden soil be clayey and adhesive, put on a covering of sand,
three inches thick, and the same depth of well-rotted manure. Spade
it in as deep as possible, and mix it well. If the soil be sandy and
loose, spade in clay and ashes. Ashes are good for all kinds of soil,
as they loosen those which are close, hold moisture in those which are
sandy, and destroy insects. The best kind of soil is that which will
hold water the longest without becoming hard when dry.

_To prepare Soil for Pot-plants_, take one fourth part of common
soil, one fourth part of well-decayed manure, and one half of vegetable
mould, from the woods or from a chip-yard. Break up the manure fine,
and sift it through a lime-screen, (or coarse wire sieve.) These
materials must be thoroughly mixed. When the common soil which is used
is adhesive, and indeed in most other cases, it is necessary to add
sand, the proportion of which must depend on the nature of the soil.

_To Prepare a Hot-Bed_, dig a pit six feet long, five feet wide,
and thirty inches deep. Make a frame of the same size, with the back
two feet high, the front fifteen inches, and the sides sloped from the
back to the front. Make two sashes, each three feet by five, with the
panes of glass lapping like shingles instead of having cross-bars. Set
the frame over the pit, which should then be filled with fresh
horse-dung, which has not lain long nor been sodden by water. Tread
it down hard; then put into the frame light and very rich soil, six
or eight inches deep, and cover it with the sashes for two or three
days. Then stir the soil, and sow the seeds in shallow drills, placing
sticks by them, to mark the different kinds. Keep the frame covered
with the glass whenever it is cold enough to chill the plants; but at
all other times admit fresh air, which is indispensable to their health.
When the sun is quite warm, raise the glasses enough to admit air, and
cover them with matting or blankets, or else the sun may kill the young
plants. Water the bed at evening with water which has stood all day,
or, if it be fresh drawn, add a little warm water. If there be too
much heat in the bed, so as to scorch or wither the plants, lift the
sashes, water freely, shade by day; make deep holes with stakes, and
fill them up when the heat is reduced. In very cold nights, cover the
sashes and frame with straw-mats.

_For Planting Flower Seeds_.--Break up the soil, till it is very
soft, and free from lumps. Rub that nearest the surface between the
hands, to make it fine. Make a circular drill a foot in diameter. Seeds
are to be planted either deeper or nearer the surface, according to
their size. For seeds as large as sweet peas, the drill should be half
an inch deep. The smallest seeds must be planted very near the surface,
and a very little fine earth be sifted over them. After covering them
with soil, beat them down with a trowel, so as to make the earth as
compact as it is after a heavy shower. Set up a stick in the middle
of the circle, with the name of the plant heavily written upon it with
a dark lead pencil. This remains more permanent if white-lead be first
rubbed over the surface. Never plant when the soil is very wet. In
very dry times, water the seeds at night. Never use very cold water.
When the seeds are small, many should be planted together, that they
may assist each other in breaking the soil. When the plants are an
inch high, thin them out, leaving only one or two, if the plant be a
large one, like the balsam; five or six, when it is of a medium size;
and eighteen or twenty of the smaller size. Transplanting, unless the
plant be lifted with a ball of earth, retards the growth about a
fortnight. It is best to plant at two different times, lest the first
planting should fail, owing to wet or cold weather.

_To plant Garden-Seeds_, make the beds from one to three yards
wide; lay across them a board a foot wide, and with a stick, make a
furrow on each side of it, one inch deep. Scatter the seeds in this
furrow, and cover them. Then lay the board over them, and step on it,
to press down the earth. When the plants are an inch high, thin them
out, leaving spaces proportioned to their sizes. Seeds of similar
species, such as melons and squashes, should not be planted very near
to each other, as this causes them to degenerate. The same kinds of
vegetables should not be planted in the same place for two years in
succession. The longer the rows are, the easier is the after culture.

_Transplanting_ should be done at evening, or which is better,
just before a shower. Take a round stick sharpened at the point, and
make openings to receive the plants. Set them a very little deeper
than they were before, and press the soil firmly round them. Then water
them, and cover them for three or four days, taking care that sufficient
air be admitted. If the plant can be removed without disturbing the
soil around the root, it will not be at all retarded by transplanting.
Never remove leaves and branches, unless a part of the roots be lost.

_To Re-pot House-Plants, renew the soil every year, soon after the
time of blossoming. Prepare soil as previously directed. Loosen the
earth from the pot by passing a knife around the skies. Turn the plant
upside down, and remove the pot. Then remove all the matted fibres at
the bottom, and all the earth, except that which adheres to the roots.
From woody plants, like roses, shake off all the earth. Take the new
pot, and put a piece of broken earthen-ware over the hole at the bottom,
and then, holding the plant in the proper position, shake in the earth
around it. Then pour in water to settle the earth, and heap on fresh
soil, till the pot is even full. Small pots are considered better than
large ones, as the roots are not so likely to rot, from excess of
moisture.

_In the Laying out of Yards and Gardens_, there is room for much
judgment and taste. In planting trees in a yard, they should be arranged
in groups, and never planted in straight lines, nor sprinkled about
as solitary trees. The object of this arrangement is to imitate Nature,
and secure some spots of dense shade and some of clear turf. In yards
which are covered with turf, beds can be cut out of it, and raised for
flowers. A trench should be made around, to prevent the grass from
running on them. These beds can be made in the shape of crescents,
ovals, or other fanciful forms.

In laying out beds in gardens and yards, a very pretty bordering can
be made, by planting them with common flax-seed, in a line about three
inches from the edge. This can be trimmed with shears, when it grows
too high.

_For Transplanting Trees_, the autumn is the best time. Take as much of
the root as possible, especially the little fibres, which should never
become dry. If kept long before they are set out, put wet moss around
them and water them. Dig holes larger than the extent of the roots; let
one person hold the tree in its former position, and another place the
roots carefully as they were before, cutting off any broken or wounded
root. _Be careful not to let the tree be more than an inch deeper them
it was before_. Let the soil be soft and well manured; shake the tree as
the soil is shaken in, that it may mix well among the small fibres. Do
not tread the earth down, while filling the hole; but, when it is full,
raise a slight mound of say four inches deep around the stem to hold
water, and fill it. Never cut off leaves nor branches, unless some of
the roots are lost. Tie the trees to a stake, and they will be more
likely to live. Water them often.

_The Care of House-Plants_ is a matter of daily attention, and well
repays all labor expended upon it. The soil of house-plants should be
renewed every year as previously directed. In winter, they should be
kept as dry as they can be without wilting. Many house-plants are
injured by giving them too much water, when they have little light
and fresh air. This makes them grow spindling. The more fresh air,
warmth and light they have, the more water is needed. They ought not
to be kept very warm in winter, nor exposed to great changes of
atmosphere. Forty degrees is a proper temperature for plants in winter,
when they have little sun and air. When plants have become spindling,
cut off their heads entirely, and cover the pot in the earth, where
it has the morning sun only. A new and flourishing head will spring
out. Few houseplants can bear the sun at noon. When insects infest
plants, set them in a closet or under a barrel, and burn tobacco under
them. The smoke kills any insect enveloped in it. When plants are
frozen, cold water and a gradual restoration of warmth are the best
remedies. Never use very cold water for plants at any season.