Planting Seed in the Open Ground 



venting the entrance of dry, hot air, and to ob- 

 tain this further the ground after being tramped 

 down should be gone over lightly with rake or 

 trowel and a dust-mulch produced. In fact, all 

 through one's gardening processes one must keep 

 the dust-mulch in evidence for it means conser- 

 vation of moisture and fertility and freedom from 

 weeds. 



Seeds of different sizes, hardness and germina- 

 tion qualities, require different treatment; fine 

 seeds may be sown in shallow drills, scattering 

 seeds whose germinary power is known to be low 

 or questionable quite thickly in the drills; beets 

 are usually sown quite freely, while radishes — 

 nearly every seed of which may be trusted to 

 grow — may be scattered at about the distance 

 they are wanted to stand in the rows ; beans, too, 

 may be dropped at about the distance they will 

 require — six inches or more apart for limas, and 

 as these seeds are sensitive to cold and damp- 

 ness it is a wise precaution to set them on edge, 

 eye down, in the drills. Seeds that germinate 

 slowly, like peas, are hastened considerably by 



39 



