44 HORTICULTURE LECT. in 



may be seen or rather felt in malting barley; and 

 this also shows how important good* seed is. When 

 the seed is plump and well ripened, containing 

 abundant starch, this, when the seed swells, and the 

 young plant is hatching so to say, is converted into 

 sugary matter for its nourishment ; but if the barley 

 is imperfect it contains little or no starch but a kind 

 of gum, and the heat, air, and moisture convert this 

 not into sugar, but vinegar, and the seed decays 

 instead of sprouting. That is exactly what occurs 

 with seed in the ground when it is in the same faulty 

 condition. 



In sowing seeds, then, they must be covered to ex- 

 clude light, be deep enough to find moisture, but not 

 too deep to prevent air reaching them. Warm moist 

 air is exactly what they need. 



In preparing for sowing too much care cannot be 

 taken in making the soil free providing a good tilth. 

 The finer the soil and loose on the surface, not beaten 

 hard and smooth, the better is the moisture retained 

 in it for the seed. If flattened down when wet, it 

 shrinks in drying and fissures form, and out of these 

 the moisture rushes, taking heat with it, for there can 

 be no evaporation without a loss of heat. 



A small sketch will be elucidatory on this subject. 

 In the left side of Fig. 6 we have at the top an even 

 drill in well-prepared soil, and even growth from 

 the seed ; below it we have steady progress of the 

 plants, and at the bottom free root action and a good 

 crop, the surface having been kept loose by frequent 

 hoeings and the escape of earth moisture by evapora- 

 tion prevented. On the right side we have, at the 

 top, an uneven drill in cloddy soil and irregular 

 growth from the seed ; below it we have slow progress 

 in the plants, and at the bottom arrested root action 

 and a poor crop, the earth moisture that should 



