LARGE VS. SMALL SEED 27 



the drills freely. If the sun is hot and the seed becomes 

 too dry, it will germinate slowly and sometimes it will 

 fail to start at all and the crop is lost. As soon as the seed 

 begins to sprout the cultivators are started. 



" The drill used to sow the seed is a wheat drill remod- 

 elled so as to sow four rows twenty-four inches apart, 

 planting the seed three-quarters of an inch below the sur- 

 face and covering with a ridge three inches high." 



" From eight to twelve good seeds are planted to the 

 foot, from one to one and a half bushels to the acre." 



Large vs. Small Seed. Large seeds including most of 

 the nuts and many of the stone fruits are very easy to 

 handle through the seed beds and for small quantities 

 this method is preferable. As the sprouts appear in the 

 spring they are. large and strong and can be moved with 

 little danger of breaking. They will not all germinate 

 at the same time and those that show no signs of swelling 

 in the spring should be discarded. They are easy to 

 separate from the sand in the seed bed, and should be 

 dropped into a furrow in the nursery row from one to four 

 inches apart according to what the future treatment is to 

 be. No attention need be given to the position of the 

 sprouts when planted. 



Small seeds like apples and pears will often germinate 

 very early and may blight before the planter is aware. 

 They will need to be moved very early to the nursery row 

 or covered with more soil, shaded from the sun and allowed 

 to grow in the seed bed. After the second pair of leaves 

 appears they can be dug out and transferred to the nursery 

 the same as any seedling. This process involves the hand- 



