USE OF THE FEET IN SOWING AND PLANTING. 211 



THE USE OF THE FEET 



IN 



SOWING AND PLANTING. 



BY PETER HENDERSON. 



(Read before the annual meeting of the National Association of 



Nurserymen, Florists, and Seedsmen, held at Cleveland, Ohio, 



in June, 1880.) 



IT may be useless to throw out any suggestions in 

 relation to horticultural operations to such a body of 

 practical men as is now before me. Yet I candidly ad- 

 mit that, although I have been extensively engaged in 

 gardening operations for over a quarter of a century, I 

 did not fully realize, until a few years ago, the full im- 

 portance of how indispensable it is to use the feet in 

 the operations of sowing and planting. 



For some years past I have, in writing on gardening 

 matters, insisted upon the great importance of " firming " 

 the soil over the seeds after sowing, especially when the 

 soil is dry, or likely to become so. I know of no opera- 

 tion of more importance in either the farm or the garden, 

 and I trust that what I am about to say will be read and 

 remembered by every one not yet aware of the vast im- 

 portance of the practice. I say " vast importance," for 

 the loss to the agricultural and horticultural community, 

 from the habit of loosely sowing seeds or planting plants 

 in hot and dry soils, is of a magnitude which few will 



