RAISING SEEDLINGS. 17 



5. To prepare a box for sowing seeds, 

 place on the bottom a layer of the stones which 

 have been separated from the soil by means of 

 the coarsest sieve. Over the stones place a 

 layer of the cocoa-nut fibre or of the dry 

 chopped grass to prevent the finer material 

 choking up the spaces between the stones. 

 Over the fibre or grass put a layer of the 

 gravel and finally a layer of the sifted earth. 

 Level this last layer by means of the tool, at 

 the same time compressing the earth slightly. 



t>. The seed may now be sown, the 

 method of procedure depending on the size 

 and kind of seed. If a small seed, like lettuce, 

 is being sown, all that is necessary is to 

 scatter the seed evenly and thinly over the 

 surface and then to distribute a layer of the 

 very fine soil over the seeds, sifting the soil 

 lightly on and adding only so much as will 

 cover the seeds without burying them at all 

 deeply. If larger seeds are being sown place 

 them in rows on the surface of the levelled 

 soil and cover with very fine earth as in the 

 previous case. Very large seeds, such as 

 nutmegs, may be placed in position, buried by 

 pressure about half their own depth in the 

 soil, and then covered with moderately fine 

 earth. 



