CHAPTER VI 



SOWING AND PLANTING 



(a) Sowing 



Direct solving can be done broadcast, or in strips, or 

 in patches, or by dibbling in without or with tilth. 



Broadcast sowing may be carried out on soil which 

 has been given no preparation, or on soil which has 

 been previously cleared and tilled. The seed is usually 

 scattered by hand by people carrying bags of seed. 

 After this is done, in the case of untilled land, the seed 

 is left to take its chance, or is raked over and pressed in, 

 but on tilled land a light harrow is passed over, and it 

 may be advantageously rolled afterwards. 



In sowing, care should be taken to scatter the seed 

 as uniformly as possible ; and if the seed is small or 

 light, a calm day should be selected for the operation. 

 If a mixture of species is desired, the seeds of the 

 different species to be raised should be mixed together 

 in the required proportions before the sowing is done, 

 and if certain species require special treatment of the 

 seed this should also be done before sowing. The 

 number of seeds sown should be largely in excess of the 

 number of seedlings which it is desired to raise ; in other 

 words, seed should be scattered thickly, because there 

 is every chance that only a small proportion will de- 

 velop into seedlings. This is especially the case when 

 the sowing is done without previous tilth of the soil. 



The seed is sown just before the beginning of the 



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