SEED-SOWING AND TRANSPLANTING 



The gardening beginner will be well advised to obtain 

 the greater number of his perennials as plants ; but 

 there are some which are easily grown from seeds, 

 and seed-sowing is the method by which all the hardy 

 annuals and biennials are to be raised. In the case of 

 annual and biennial plants, such as sweet-peas, mignon- 

 ette, nasturtiums, convolvuluses, nigellas, and the rest, 

 the seed may well be sown in the open borders or beds, 

 if the soil be but well dug and finely divided. It is advis- 

 able, however, to mix a little sand and leafmould with 

 the soil, and to give the seed-bed a good watering on 

 the night previous to sowing the seeds, if the soil be 

 otherwise dry. At the same time it is necessary to 

 avoid sowing when the ground is sticky after or during 

 heavy rain. The seed having been sown in finely- 

 pulverised soil which is neither too wet nor too dry, 

 it is a good practice to press the seed-bed, either by the 

 use of a roller, or by patting it with the flat of a spade. 

 This tends to promote the flow of a continuous supply 

 of moisture from the deeper parts to the surface of the 

 soil by means of capillary attraction. As, however, 

 this proceeding also promotes a continuous loss of soil- 

 moisture by evaporation, the surface should be loosened 

 by hoe or rake as soon as the young plants appear — 

 indeed, in the case of the more deeply-buried seeds, 

 such as sweet-peas, the surface should be slightly dis- 

 turbed as soon as the sowing and pressing have been 

 performed. In dry weather, evaporation from the seed- 

 bed may be checked by shading it with a screen placed 

 about two feet above the surface. 

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