sow 



sow 



411 



ed them at the same time, and on 

 different parts of the same bed. 

 The result was, that almost all the 

 seeds he took out of the bags grew 

 well ; but, of those which had been 

 kept in the phials, not one came 

 up. This discovery was further 

 confirmed by experiments after- 

 wards. How careful then should 

 both farmers and gardeners be, that 

 no seeds designed for sowing be 

 kept totally secluded from the air ! 



All kinds of seeds are best kept 

 in their pods, or husks. Especially 

 they should be kept, when they are 

 designed to be transported to dis- 

 tant countries. 



Accordingly, some of the best 

 writers recommend the lying of 

 seed wheat in the sheaf to the time 

 of sowing. And, that none but the 

 best of the grain may be sown, in- 

 stead of threshing, it is advisable 

 to strike a handful at a time gently 

 against a post, and collect what 

 falls out ; because the heaviest and 

 best grain is always the most easily 

 detached from the ear. 



Being furnished with good seeds, 

 the time for committing them to 

 the earth must in great measure be 

 determined by the judgment of the 

 experienced husbandman ; because, 

 from various circumstances, it 

 comes to pass, that the true time 

 admits of some latitude. The time 

 for spring sowing will vary accord- 

 ing to the variation of the forward- 

 ness of the season ; which may be 

 best determined by the respective 

 forwardness of trees and shrubs. 

 See the article Kalendar, 



But there are other circumstances 

 to be taken into the account, which 

 may further vary the season for 



spring sowing. A light warm soil 

 may receive the seeds earlier than 

 one that is strong and moist. The 

 former will arrive to the right de- 

 gree of dryness sooner than the 

 latter, and is earlier fit for the ope- 

 rations of tillage. And this is cer- 

 tain, that seeds that require the 

 earliest sowing, must not be sown 

 before the earth can be well pul- 

 verised. Neither should plants 

 that are easily killed by frost, be 

 so early sown as to be up till the 

 spring frosts are past. 



I may add, a spot which has a 

 southern exposure may be seeded 

 rather earlier than land which de- 

 scends to the northward, or than 

 land which is level. 



If seeds are sown too early, or 

 when the ground is too wet or cold 

 for them, they will either perish, 

 and fail of coming up ; or if they 

 come up, it is slowly, so that the 

 plants become stinted in their 

 growth, and never arrive to a full 

 size. 



If the right season for sowing 

 should elapse, the husbandman, be- 

 ing convinced of it, may accelerate 

 vegetation by steeping the seeds in 

 a ley of wood ashes, or any other 

 proper menstruum, so that they 

 may overtake in their growth those 

 which were sown in the right sea- 

 son. 



The depth at which different 

 seeds should be buried in the soil 

 is various, according to the differ- 

 ence of seeds and soils. iVl. Du- 

 hamel found by experiment, that 

 but iew seeds will come up at all, 

 when buried deeper than nine in- 

 ches ; that some seeds rise very 

 well from the depth of sis inches ; 



