81 



Sowing Grass Seeds. 



The actual work of sowing grasses is simplicity itself, but as 

 the germination of the seed and the equal distribution of the 

 plant depend upon the accuracy of the process, the details shoidd 

 be carried out with due regard to the serious loss which failure 

 certainly entails. The necessity for making the seed-bed fine and 

 firm has already been enforced. At sowing time the additional 

 requirement is a soil dry enough to allow the implements to 

 work freely without any tendency to gather in clods on the 

 roller. I know that waiting to sow will often tax the patience 

 severely. But it is worse tlian useless to enter into a vain 

 conflict with Nature. All such conflicts inevitably end in the 

 defeat of man. 



The first business is to run the harrow over the land to pre- 

 pare it for the seed, and the sowing may be either performed by 

 hand or by means of the common seed-barrow. Some men are 

 skilful in spreading seeds equally by hand, and on a still day 

 their work answers well. But grass seeds are light, and it does 

 not need a very liigli wind to make the sowing irregular. As the 

 barrow dehvers the seed nearer to the ground, it will, as a rule, 

 distribute the grasses more evenly than the most practised sower 

 by hand. But whichever method is adopted, there is a decided 

 advantage in making two sowings. If the grasses and clovers are 

 mixed together, half the quantity should be sown by passing up 

 and down the land, and the other half by crossing the first sowing 

 at right angles. When the grasses and clovers are separate, the 

 grasses can be put in one way, and the clovers should cross them . 



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