40 VEGETABLE GARDENING. 



more liable to get a good start in it. than in soil that has lain 

 untilled long enough to become crusty and lumpy. Then, if the 

 seeds are planted immediately after cultivation has been given 

 and while the soil is still moist, the weeds will hardly get the 

 start of the crop planted, if reasonable care is used. In fact, 

 following this rale will genet'ally insure success as long as 

 there is life in the seed and moisture in the soil. Again, it is 

 preferable to sow seeds immediately after a rain rather than 

 just before it comes, since in the case of the finer seeds the 

 crust which forms immediately after a rain may be so com- 

 pact that the young seedlings cannot push through. When a 

 crust thus forms over seeds, it is sometimes a good plan to go 

 over the land before the crust is very compact and break it 

 up with rakes, but this should be done in a most careful 

 manner, so as not to disturb the seeds. If a crust forms over 

 line seeds, such as celery, tobacco and others, it is a good 

 plan to keep the crust moist, at least, until the seeds have 

 pushed through it. Soil that is much dried out in mid-sum- 

 mer is often quite an obstacle to the ready germination of 

 seed sown at that time, but if the seed is sown shortly after 

 the ground is plowed and somewhat deeper than it is generally 

 sown in the early spring, and care is taken to firm the 

 earth very carefully immediately after sowing, the seed will 

 generally come up very quickly at this season. But the land 

 should not be worked for seed sowing or for any other pur- 

 pose when very wet and sticky, as seeds cannot be properly 

 planted in such a soil. 



The Time for Sowing the various seeds varies greatly and 

 will be found referred to separately under the several heads. 

 Some seeds such as spinach, onion, lettuce and radish may 

 be sown as soon as the ground can be worked, while the seed 

 of such tropical plants as corn, cucumber and squash should 

 not be sown until the ground is well warmed. The early sown 

 hardier seeds are often frozen up in the ground and, perhaps, 

 covered with snow without injury: in fact, a covering of 

 snow seems to help seeds of the hardy kinds to grow. 



Sowing in Stiff Clay Soils. It is comparatively easy to make 

 seeds germinate in sand, sandy loam, muck or soil rich in 

 humus, provided they contain a reasonable amount of mois- 

 ture, but in stiff clay soils this is often quite a different 



