American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian HomesStowe, Harriet Beecher
Religion
American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes
Stowe, Harriet Beecher
Home economics
_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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
American Woman's Home: Or, Principles of Domestic Science;: Being a Guide to the Formation and Maintenance of Economical, Healthful, Beautiful, and Christian Homes — John Shaqi
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