14 CABBAGES, HOW TO GROW THEM, ETC. 



sel having a broad bottom, and taking a small pinch be- 

 tween the thumb and fore finger he gives a slight scratch 

 with the remaining fingers of the same hand, and drop- 

 ping in about half a dozen seed covers them half an inch 

 deep with a sweep of the hand, and packs the earth by 

 a gentle pat with the open palm to keep the moisture in 

 .the ground and thus promote the vegetation of the seed. 

 With care a quarter of a pound of seed will plant an 

 acre, when dropped directly in the hills ; but half a 

 pound is the common allowance, as there is usually some 

 waste from spilling, while most laborers plant with a 

 free hand. 



The soil over the hills being very light and porous, 

 careless hands are apt to drop the seed too deep. Care 

 should be taken not to drop the soed all in one spot, but 

 to scatter them over a surface of two or three inches 

 square, that each plant may have room to develop with- 

 out crowding its neighbors. 



If the seed is to be drilled in, it will be necessary to 

 scatter the manure all along the furrows, then cover 

 with a plough, roughly leveling with a rake. 



Should the compost applied to the hills be very con- 

 centrated, it will be apt to produce slump foot ; it will 

 therefore be safest in such cases to hollow out the middle 

 with the corner of the hoe, or draw the hoe through and 

 fill in with earth, that the roots of the young plants may 

 not come in direct contact with the compost as scon as 

 they begin to push. 



When guano or phosphates are used in the hills it will 

 be well to mark out the rows with a plough, and then, 

 where each hill is to be, fill in the soil level to the sur- 

 face with a hoc, before applying them. I have in a pre- 

 vious paragraph given full instructions how to apply 



