T IN SOWING AND PLANTING. 21] 



THE USE OF THE FEET 



SOWING AND PLANTING. 



BY PETER HENDERSON. 



(Read before the annual meeting of the National Association of 



^Nurserymen, Florists, and Seedsmen, held at Cleveland, Ohio, 



in June, 1880.) 



IT may be useless to throw out any suggestions in 

 relation to horticultural operations to such a body of 

 practical men as is now before me. Yet I candidly ad- 

 mit that, although I have been extensively engaged in 

 gardening operations for over a quarter of a century, I 

 did not fully realize, until a few years ago, the full im- 

 portance of how indispensable it is to use the feet in 

 the operations of sowing and planting. 



For some years past I have, in writing on gardening 

 matters, insisted upon the great importance of " firming " 

 the soil over the seeds after sowing, especially when the 

 soil is dry, or likely to become so. I know of no opera- 

 tion of more importance in either the farm or the garden, 

 and I trust that what I am about to say will be read and 

 remembered by every one not yet aware of the vast im- 

 portance of the practice. I say "vast importance," for 

 the loss to the agricultural and horticultural community, 

 from the habit of loosely sowing seeds or planting plants 

 in hot and dry soils, is of a magnitude which few will 



