144 RUTA BAGA CULTURE. [PART I. 



last summer, on the eleventh of^August, which 

 did very well, though neither harrowed nor 

 rolled after being sown. But, in both these 

 cases, there came rain directly after the sowing, 

 which battered down the seeds; and which rain, 

 indeed^ it was, which prevented the rolling ; for, 

 that cannot take place when the ground is wet ; 

 because, then, the earth will adhere to the roller, 

 which will go on growing in size like a rolling 

 snow-ball. To harrow after the sowing is sure 

 to do mischief. We always bury seeds too 

 deep ; and, in the operation of harrowing, more 

 than half the seeds of turnips must be destroyed, 

 or rendered useless. If a seed lies beyond the 

 proper depth, it will either remain in a quiescent 

 state, until some movement of the earth bring it 

 up to the distance from the surface, which will 

 make it vegetate, or, it will vegetate, and come 

 up later than the rest of the plants. It will be 

 feebler also ; and it will never be equal to a 

 plant, which has come from a seed near the 

 surface. 



96. Before I proceed further, it may not be 

 amiss to say something more respecting the 

 burying of seed, though it may here be rather 

 out of place. Seeds buried below their proper 

 depth, do not come up ; but, many of them are 

 near enough to the surface, sometimes, to vege 

 tate, without coming up ; and then they die. This 

 is the case, in many instances, with more than 



