366 The Philippine Journal of Science 1915 
grown under crowded conditions. It is reasonable to suppose, 
and the fact has been generally established, that thrifty seedlings 
are essential to the best final results. 
‘Experiments made thus far in the Islands for determining 
the proper number of seedlings to set in a hill have taken 
no account of the conditions under which the seedlings were 
produced. All the seedlings used were grown under crowded 
conditions. 
Experimentation with seedlings grown under different rates 
of seeding, on fertilized and nonfertilized soil, is needed. Such 
work might give valuable information on conditions governing 
the optimum growth and the production of the individual plant. 
In the selection work it was learned that a large percentage of 
the stools were inferior, and that a stool might have stems 
either with small panicles or with none at all. The fact might 
be established that the conditions under which the seedlings are 
grown very largely determine their ultimate value. In animal 
husbandry work the feeder recognizes that gain or loss is largely 
determined by the care the young animal receives. 
Since the soil used in the nursery seedling experiment is 
similar to that often used in rice seedling beds, the indication 
is that the ordinary soil needs an application of manure to 
insure thrifty plants. 
An application of farm manure, preserved under shelter,. ap- 
plied at the rate of 1 cavan per 10 square meters, and worked 
with the soil, would insure sufficient plant food. Other condi- 
tions being normal, good results may be expected when the palay 
is either drilled in furrows about 10 centimeters apart and 3 
centimeters deep or evenly broadcasted at a rate not to exceed 
5,000 seeds per square meter—a rate which is equivalent to 1 
ganta of seed of group B to every 28 square meters of seed bed 
or 1 cavan for 700 square meters. This rate requires a seed bed 
about as large as the usual one and three times the rate advocated 
by the Bureau of Agriculture." It provides ample room for 
growth, and at transplanting time it is not difficult to remove 
the desired number of plants to be set in a hill. As this moderate 
rate of seeding reduces the demand for available food per given 
unit of area, the individual plants are more likely to be well 
supplied. 
A great deal of practice is needed to become skilled in even 
and rapid sowing of seed by hand. The seed should be sown on 
smooth ground, counted, and resown until the required skill is 
*One cavan of seed to % hectare or 250 square meters. 
