xx PREFACE 



with water, and after this has drained away to scatter 

 in moist but not wet earth before sowing the seed. 

 That the moisture of the ground shall reach the seeds, 

 firming the ground upon them is imperative. 



A still better method of hand-sowing consists in 

 making the drill deeper than directed, scattering along 

 it some good chemical fertilizer, rich in nitrogen, and 

 covering this with earth before sowing the seed, which 

 direct contact with the chemical would injure. The 

 fertilizer, thus placed, gives the plants the much-desired 

 "quick start," with a supply of food for later growth. 



Many gardeners use seed-drills, which dig the fur- 

 row, sow the seed, cover it, and firm the ground, all in 

 one operation, with great economy of time. In a large 

 garden, with long rows, seed-drills are valuable. The 

 row should always be mulched with the rake after sow- 

 ing. If the seed-drill is used, fertilizer cannot be sowed 

 underneath the seed, and the plant must depend upon 

 the food already present in the soil, or upon chemicals 

 scattered alongside the rows. Machines have been 

 made, however, for sowing fertilizers alongside drilled 

 seeds, and although the fertilizer will not be, as best, 

 beneath the plants, it will doubtless benefit them. 



In sowing in hills the seeds should be a few inches 

 apart, in a little circle, so that when thinned one seed- 

 ling will not pull another up. Make the circle larger 

 or smaller according to the number of plants that are 

 to remain, and to their eventual size. Seed-drills are 



