SOWING OF WINTER GREENS 71 



who cannot see his way to make a good seed-bed 

 before sowing, had better look out for some occupation 

 requiring less skill than does farming. 



Once a good tilth has been secured, the seed may be 

 broadcasted with the handy little implement, the 

 Cahoon seed sower, or seed fiddle, previously referred to. 

 This seeder, however, is apt to throw out more seed to 

 one side than the other. This can be avoided if the 

 direction of the wheel which broadcasts the seed, is 

 reversed at every " bout " up and down the field. In 

 going down the field, the operator will turn the wheel 

 from him, and towards him on the return stroke. By 

 this means a very uniform seeding is obtained. 



THE MATTER OF MOISTURE AGAIN 



Once more it is necessary to emphasise how essential 

 moisture is for the growing of winter greens, especially 

 in the early stage. Presuming that all the precautions 

 referred to have been taken, there are very few places 

 in this country where a sufficient quantity of moisture 

 cannot be obtained in the months of June and July, 

 when the crops are sown. Even in a country like Essex, 

 which has one of the lowest rainfalls, there are generally 

 2 inches of rainfall in each of these months. 



If, however, after all the precautions, a seed-bed is 

 dry, then the farmer had better wait for rain before 

 sowing. A crop sown on July ist under damp soil 

 conditions will be further advanced by the month of 

 October, than one sown a month earlier when the soil 

 is dry. Further, a rapid growth is essential for the 

 smothering of weeds, and one of the features of these 

 crops is that, when properly grown, the laborious 

 processes of thinning, weeding, hand and horse hoeing, 

 are dispensed with. This means, of course, reducing 

 the cost of producing the crop by at least one half. 



Now we come to the great question : To drill or to 



