For the Southern States. 



19 



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 according to their size, a covering of earth twice the 

 size of the seed is about the maximum. 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 MarrowfatPeas or the com- 

 mon varieties of Corn. It depends upon the nature of the soil, season of 

 the year, etc. For instance, in heavy wet soil seeds have to be covered 

 lighter than in sandy light ground. Seeds which are sown during sum- 

 mer 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 

 seed in the open ground, toward the end of July and during August, 

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

 day of sowing till the plants are transplanted. Seed 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, according 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. 



Where seeds, such as Beans, Cucumbers, Melons and Squash, are 

 planted before it is warm enough, they are very apt to rot if it rains. 



