The Ash. 



earth very finely in the alley before he lays it upon the bed; 

 and when he has laid it on the bed he spreads it smoothly 

 over the seed, and breaks it very finely. Even before he 

 do this, it is good to go over the beds, and to pat the seed 

 close down to the earth with a spade or with the head of a 

 rake and, as the earth is hiid on, great care should be 

 taken to break it fine and to press it down upon the seed, 

 so that the seed may be well fixed in the ground, and not 

 liable to be washed out by rains, heaved out by frosts, or 

 dragged up by worms. This work of covering the seed 

 should be executed, if possible, when it does not rain, and 

 ^vhen the ground is not very wet ; for, if very wet, the 

 earth will cling about the spade and also about the feet of 

 the workmen ; and, which is of much greater consequence, 

 it will leave the ground in lumps upon the seeds 5 it will 

 cause there to be cavities when the ground becomes dry ; 

 the winds will be thus let in and the young plants will 

 perish or be stunted. 



113. The reader will easily perceive, that, if necessary, 

 ten hands instead of two, and a hundred instead of ten, 

 might be employed at one and the same time on such 

 a job : some shifting the line, some treading, some chop- 

 ping, some breaking the earth upon the beds, some sowing 

 the seed, some patting the seed down, and, finally, two 

 men or more in every alley at work covering the beds. 

 Those who cover the beds, must take great care not to 

 break the edges of them : they ought to slope the edge 

 towards the alley; tlyit is to say, to make the alley nar- 

 rower at the bottom than at the top ; and by all means to 

 keep the edge of the bed firm. When the whole piece is 

 sowed and covered, care ought to be taken that no dogs, 

 cats, pigs, or any thing else come to disturb the beds. 

 I have never perceived that mice meddled with Ash seeds ; 



f2 



