FOR THE SOUTHERN STATES. 21 



SOWING SEEDS, 



Some seeds are sown at once where they are to remain and mature. Others 

 are sown in seed beds and transplanted afterwards. Seeds should be covered ac- 

 cording to their sizes, a covering of earth twice the size of the seed is about the max- 

 imum. Some seeds, such as Beans, Corn and Peas, can be covered from one to two 

 inches, and they will come up well. Here is a difference again: Wrinkled Peas 

 and Sugar Corn have to be covered lighter and more carefully than Marrowfat 

 Peas or the common varieties of Corn. It depends upon the nature of the soil, sea- 

 son of the year, etc. For instance, in heavy wet soils seeds have to be covered 

 lighter than in sandy light ground. Seeds which are sown during summer in the 

 open ground, such as Beets and Carrots, should be soaked over night in water and 

 rolled in ashes or plaster before sowing ; they will come up quicker. When they 

 are sown in a seed bed, the ground should be light enough not to bake after a 

 rain. Some varieties of seeds require shade when sown during the summer, such 

 as Cauliflower, Celery and Lettuce. Care should be taken to have the shade at 

 least three feet from the ground, and shade only after the sun has been on the bed 

 for two or three hours ; and remove again early in the afternoon, so the plants may 

 become sturdy. If too much shaded they will be drawn up, long-legged, and not 

 fit to be set out in the open ground. The most successful cabbage planters in this 

 neighborhood sow their seeds in the open ground, towards the end of July and dur- 

 ing August, and give them no shade but water, and keep the ground moist from 

 the day of sowing till the plants are transplanted. Seeds should be sown thinly 

 in the seed bed. If plants come up too thickly they are apt to damp off. 



Lettuce seed should be sprouted during the hot months before sowing, accord- 

 ing to directions given for June, 



To sow Turnips on a large scale during late summer and early fall months, the 

 ground should be prepared in advance, and the seed sown just before or during a 

 rain. Small pieces of ground, of course, can be sown at any time and watered 

 afterwards. For covering all kinds of seeds, a fork is preferable to a rake ; with 

 either implement, care must be taken not to cover the seeds too deep. Beans, Peas 

 and Corn are covered with the hoe. Some fine seeds, such as Thyme or Tobacco, 

 are covered enough when pressed with the back of the spade to the ground. The 

 seedsman is often blamed for selling seeds which have not come up, when the 

 same are perfectly good ; but, perhaps, through ignorance the party by whom they 

 were sown, placed them too deep or too shallow in the ground, or the ground may 

 have been just moist enough to swell the seeds, and they failed to come up. At 

 other times washing rains after sowing beat the ground and form a crust that the 

 seeds are not able to penetrate, or, if there is too much fresh manure in the ground, 

 it will burn the seed, and destroy its vitality. 



When seeds, such as Beans, Cucumbers, Melons and Squash, are planted before 

 it i» warm enough, they are very apt to rot if it rains. • 



