MANNER OF SOWING. 187 



The regularity of the furrows is easily secured by stretching 

 along each of the two opposite edges of the bed, by means ot 

 stakes, a strong line knotted at the required intervals. A short 

 line or stick laid across between two opposite knots will suffice to 

 guide the tracing of the furrow. 



The furrows may be made with the hand alone or with the aid 

 of special draw-hoes, such as the trowel-hoe (Fig. 27) or the share- 

 hoe (Fig. 28). The size of the blade and the angle between the 

 blade and handle will vary with the width and depth of the furrows. 

 But whenever possible, the sowing wedge and boaid should be em- 

 ployed. These do not require the aid of any cross guiding line or 

 stick, as they are just long enough to lie exactly across the beds. 

 To use the sowing wedge (Fig. 39), it is held by the two handles, 

 and being laid across the bed between two opposite knots, is pressed 

 or rammed into the soil to the required depth. Before it is drawn 

 out, it is worked from side to side so as slightly to widen the open- 

 ing of the furiow and to consolidate its sides. The wedge is adopt- 

 ed for use only in more or less free soil that does not clog, and it 

 requires to be sponged or mopped each time it is forced into the 

 soil. When small furrows are required two or more wedges may 

 be secured together by cross battens as shown in Fig. 30. The 

 sowing board (Fig. 31) is specially adapted for small seeds. It 

 consists of a plank about 1^- inches thick to the under face of 

 which are attachedjtwo or three laths at the required distance apart. 

 The under surface of the laths is grooved in the middle along their 

 entire length, so that the bottom of the furrows made may have a 

 pronounced convex section, and seeds dropped along the elevated 

 middle line may fall uniformly down each side, thus sowing two 

 lines of seed in a single operation. In using the sowing board the 

 trouble of measuring off distances before it can be placed and 

 pressed down, may be saved by allowing the board on each side to 

 project beyond the outer lath to the extent of half the interval 

 required between two furrows. Two boards may then be used side 

 by side, each being moved foiward alternately. Similarly, and 

 with the same object, the cross battens in the combined wedge may 

 be lengthened. 



The number of seeds to sow will depend on their size and quality, 

 and on the rapidity of growth of the young plants, their require- 

 ments as regards light and shelter, and the time that they are to 

 remain in the seed-bed. Large seeds of good quality should be 

 arranged in a continuous line, touching or almost touching each 

 other. Smaller seeds, since they produce small plants, may be 



