ter-inch mesh--such as
a coal-ash sifter. This screening will help also to incorporate the
several ingredients evenly and thoroughly.

While we provided holes in the seed box for drainage, it is best to take
even further precautions in this matter by covering the bottom of the
box with nearly an inch of coarse material, such as the roots and half
decayed leaves, screened out of the sods and leaf-mould. On the top of
this put the prepared soil, filling the box to within about a quarter of
an inch of the top, and packing down well into the corners and along
sides and ends. The box should not be filled level full, because in
subsequent waterings there would be no space to hold the water which
would run off over the sides instead of soaking down into the soil.

The usual way is to fill the boxes and sow the seed, and then water the
box on the surface, but I mention here a method which I have used in my
own work for two years. When filling the box, set it in some place where
it may be watered freely, such as on the cellar floor, if too cold to
work outdoors. After putting in the first layer of coarse material, give
it a thorough soaking and then put in about two-thirds of the rest of
the soil required and give that a thorough watering also. The balance
of the soil is then put in and made level, the seeds sown, and no
further watering given, or just enough to moisten the surface and hold
it in place, if dry. The same result can be obtained by filling and
sowing the box in the usual way, and then placing it in some place--such
as the kitchen sink--in about an inch of water, and leaving it until
moisture, not water, shows upon the surface. Either of these ways is
much surer than the old method of trying to soak the soil through from
the surface after planting, in which case it is next to impossible to
wet the soil clear through without washing out some of the small seeds.

After filling the box as directed, make the soil perfectly smooth and
level with a small flat piece of board, or a brick. Do not pack it down
hard,--just make it firm. Then mark off straight narrow lines, one to
two inches apart, according to the size of the seed to be sown.

The instructions usually given are to cover flower seeds to from three
to five times their own depth. You may, if you like, take a foot-rule
and try to measure the diameter of a begonia or mignonette seed; but you
will probably save time by simply trying to cover small seeds just as
l