THE GARDEN AT HOME 



a very fine tilth may be obtained by raking, and this is 

 most necessary, especially for the reception of small 

 seeds, otherwise they may perish for lack of moisture. 

 All gardeners should know that soil with a loose surface 

 of finely broken soil retains moisture more effectually 

 than that with a rough surface, for in the former case 

 evaporation is less rapid than in the latter. 



It is, as a rule, better to sow seeds in drills than broad- 

 cast. When it is intended to transplant the seedlings 

 it is certainly proper to sow in drills, for the little plants 

 may be found at a glance, whereas if sown broadcast it 

 is likely enough that many will be killed by accidental 

 means or possibly choked by weeds. When seeds are 

 sown where they are to bloom in a bed or border, as in 

 the case of annual flowers, it is usual to scatter the seed 

 broadcast, since drill sowing would be liable to give stiff 

 and unnatural results when the plants reached the blossom- 

 ing stage. It is scarcely necessary, since it has been 

 condemned so very frequently, to say much about the 

 folly of sowing thickly. It is enough to urge that un- 

 necessarily thick sowing not only wastes seed but gives 

 inferior plants. 



Thinning out the seedlings is a matter of moment ; 

 careful as one may be, one is pretty sure to sow more 

 seeds than one needs plants ; in fact, it would be unwise 

 not to do so, for as a rule only a proportion of seeds 

 sown out of doors produce seedlings. It is necessary, 

 therefore, to overestimate rather than to underestimate. 



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