OUTDOOR SEED SOWING 47 



germinate rather quicker, but care must be taken not to get 

 the soil wet. 



Having dealt with the manner of sowing under glass, 

 we will now turn to outdoor sowing, which, as already 

 stated, is still far more extensively practised by the culti- 

 vators than under -glass sowing. Much has been said 

 and written as to the marked advantages of sowing in 

 flat -bottomed, shallow trenches or drills, as compared 

 with the triangular drills drawn with the heel of a cutting 

 hoe, but there are still many amateurs who adopt the 

 latter system. They should drop it instantly, for the 

 simple reason that triangular drills are prejudicial from 

 the start, and the results can never, therefore, be as 

 satisfactoiy as when the plants proceed perfectly from the 

 earliest stages. 



Every grower of Sweet Peas should decide to have 

 shallow trenches in future. It is obvious that the depth 

 will vary slightly according to the texture of the soil the 

 stronger it is, the shallower the cutting should be ; the 

 lighter it is, the deeper the trenches should be. In any 

 case they must not exceed 4 inches, and never be less 

 than 2 inches. It should not be assumed that the seeds 

 will be covered to the full depth in either case ; on the 

 contrary, a surfacing of i inch to i inches suffices 

 according to circumstances, and the greater depth of 

 cutting is simply advised so that the stems can be 



