SEED SOWING. 41 



matter, as the land becomes crusted over so completely as to 

 prevent the smaller seedling's from pushing through. For such 

 land, it is desirable to use rather more seed than would be 

 needed in more porous soils, for the reason that while a few 

 plants could not push up the crusted surface, yet the many 

 can do so: and while thick seeding increases the total cost 

 of seed, yet the certainty of thus securing a full stand is so 

 great an advantage as to well repay this additional outlay, 

 and the expense for thinning, if it has to be clone at all, is 

 about the same for thick as for thin seeding. 



Sowing Seed with Machine. When the soil is prepared for 

 best work with a garden drill, it is generally in the best condition 

 for the germination of the seeds. The whole surface should 

 be fine, mellow and even. There are only one or two garden 

 seeds that cannot readily be sown with any of the half dozen 

 good garden drills that are offered in the market. Garden 

 drills, when properly used, will sow and cover seed much more 

 uniformly than it can possibly be sown and covered, by hand, 

 and they are a necessity in any well managed, modern garden. 

 It is of the utmost importance to have straight rows in the 

 garden, for they are more economical of space than crooked 

 rows and are more perfectly cultivated with the wheel hoes 

 and cultivator, besides, crookedrows are unsightly and sloven- 

 ly. It is generally desirable in using a garden drill to mark 

 off the first row with a line to get it straight. If this is done 

 to begin with, the subsequent rows may be kept parallel by 

 using the marker always found on such machines, providing* 

 constant care is used. Some growers prefer to mark out all the 

 rows with a marker and then run the seed sower in the marks, but 

 for a careful workman this is useless labor. Seed drills are 

 made with a point to open furrows, a coverer for filling in af- 

 ter the drill, a wheel for compacting the soil on the seed and a 

 marker for the next row. To use a garden seed sower 

 most successfully requires good judgment, but a little 

 careful experimenting will soon enable any one accustomed 

 to tools to handle these most useful implements, to good ad- 

 vantage. Sometimes it is desirable to sow seed when the 

 ground is so wet that it is not safe to firm the soil over it 

 When such is the case, the rear wheel is removed 

 in sowing. In other cases, when it is desirable to firm the 



