How to Sow Seeds 155 



4. THE SOWING OF SEEDS 



Congenial temperature and a continuous supply of 

 moisture are the two requisites of germination which 

 the gardener has to supply. He supplies these agents 

 by placing the seeds in some loose, moist, granular 

 medium, as a mealy and friable soil. If this soil lies 

 on other soil, the moisture is drawn up by capillary 

 attraction and as it passes off into the air it moistens 

 the seeds and promotes germination. If the soil is 

 very loose, open or lumpy, the capillary attraction is 

 broken and the moisture does not rise to the seeds. 

 Or, if it does rise, the seeds are not in intimate con- 

 tact with the particles of soil and do not receive much 

 of the soil moisture ; moreover, the air which is held 

 in the large interstices tends to dry out the seed. To 

 a large extent, a continuous and uniform supply of 

 moisture is a regulator of temperature. It is there- 

 fore apparent why a finely divided and compact soil 

 is the proper medium in which to sow seeds. 



Whenever the soil is likely to become drier rather 

 than moister, as it is at the germinating season, it is 

 important to firm the earth over the seeds. In large 

 field operations, as in the sowing of the cereal grains, 

 the roller is ordinarily used. Under market-gardening 

 conditions, the soil is usually compacted by a roller 

 which is a part of the seed drill and which follows 

 just behind the delivery spout. When seeds are sown 

 from the hand, the soil is compacted with a hoe or by 

 walking over the row. Since this compacting of the 

 surface establishes capillary connection with the under 



