268 DIBECl SOWING. 



in the soil. On removing the board, nothing more remains to be 

 done than to drop a seed into each hole, with a little manure added 

 if necessary, and then to rake the soil lightly over the seeds. It is 

 best for one workman to manipulate the board and another to sow 

 and cover the seed. The use of the implement just described, 

 which may be termed the sowing porcupine, furnishes several im- 

 portant advantages. In the first place, there is no time lost in 

 counting the seeds and in distributing them uniformly, and any 

 untrained or careless cooly can sow with it just as efficiently as the 

 most experienced or conscientious workman. In the second place, 

 it allows each future seedling to be effectively manured with the 

 smallest possible expenditure of labour and of manure ; and the 

 sowing being well done, less seed need be used. Lastly, owing to 

 the perfect uniformity of the sowing holes secured with the imple- 

 ment, seeds of different species can be sown in different patches or 

 in one and the same patch, as the case may be, in accordance with 

 the habits and requirements of the several species, and check and 

 supervision are remarkably facilitated. For the board we may 

 substitute either a piece of sheet iron strengthened with ribs or an 

 assemblage of battens or iron bars. 



6. Value and employment of the method. 



This method of sowing, while it enjoys all the advantages pos- 

 sessed by the strip method, is superior to the latter in the follow- 

 ing respects : 



(i) By it a much smaller proportion (from about one-seventh 

 to one-twelfth and even less) of the total area is cultivated and 

 sown ; wherefore 



(ii) Less labour and time are expended ; 



(iii) More time, skill and care can be devoted to the prepara- 

 tion and sowing of the cultivated portions ; 



(iv) Less seed is used (under ordinary circumstances only one- 

 half), thus justifying stricter selection and thicker sowing ; and 



(v) Outlay of money is diminished. Moreover. 



(vi) Supervision and examination of results, the work being 

 done at well-defined points, are easier ; 



(vii) The young crop receives more protection from the sur- 

 rounding spontaneous vegetation, which borders it on every side ; 

 and 



(viii) The chances of erosion on hilly ground are diminished. 



The patch method is peculiarly well adapted for stony localities 

 or where the ground is traversed by numerous strong and woody 



