Seed 'beds 



163 



seeds have begun to break the ground, but thereafter 

 this covering should be removed, else the young seed- 

 lings will be injured. The seedlings should always 

 be given sufficient head room and light and air to 

 enable them to develop to their normal condition. If 

 the seed-bed is kept too wet and the seedlings are 

 too soft, the damping-ofif fungi are likely to work 

 havoc. Sometimes the seed-bed is made underneath 

 a tree, but this is rarely advisable, since the earth 

 usually requires too much watering and the shade 

 may be too dense. 



If it is desired to secure a quick germination of 

 seeds in a summer seed-bed, it is well to prepare the 

 bed the fall before, or at least very early in the spring, 

 and to keep it covered with several inches or a foot of 

 well -rotted manure until needed. When the bed is 

 needed, the manure is removed ; the soil is then 

 full of moisture and the seeds germinate quickly. 

 The fertility which has leached from the manure also 

 enables the plantlets to secure an early foothold. This 

 method is practiced in some of the market -gardening 

 centers, particularly those in which late cabbages and 

 cauliflower are grown. 



When sowing seeds in the open field, the use of a 

 seed-drill should be encouraged (see Fig. 37), not 

 only because it saves time and labor, but also because 

 it enforces good preparation of the land. A drill can- 

 not be worked in soil which is hard, dense and lumpy. 

 Seed-drills, w^heel-hoes and smoothing harrows make 

 better gardeners. If a seed-drill is not used, the seed- 

 furrows for ordinary use may be made by drawin£f the 



