29 
Seeds and Seed Sowing 
the ground should first be carefully measured out, and lines 
set across the garden to keep the drills perfectly straight. 
Then the feet should be placed on the line, care being 
taken to put the feet down so as not to move the line 
either to the one side or the other. Then the line will 
be perfectly tight, and will resist the pressure from the 
side when the drill is drawn with the hoe. Keep the feet 
firmly on the line as the hoe is drawn back. Hold the hoe 
well up, and cut the soil, thus throwing the latter out on 
either side, rather than drawing it into a heap at the end of 
the row. Care should be taken to keep the bottom of the 
drill level, so as to ensure regular germination. When the 
seed is sown it should be gently pressed with the feet to 
make the soil firm, thus preventing the loosened soil from 
being dried up, and the seed suffering in consequence, 
especially with the shallow-sown seeds. When sowing 
peas and beans, which are covered with about to 3 in. 
of soil, this does not apply. For peas, the drills should be 
drawn with the flat of the hoe and the seed sown thinly. 
The soil should then be drawn over it with the hoe, one- 
half being drawn in from one side, and the other pushed 
in from the other, leaving a very slight ridge. Care 
should be taken that the centre of the ridge is right over 
the line of seed. This will ensure the plants coming up 
regularly over the whole of the ridge. 
The time during which seeds preserve their vitality 
varies. Hawthorn and Holly seeds should be sown as 
soon as they are ripe, but as the Hawthorn takes twelve 
months and the Holly two years to germinate, they can 
be sown in boxes of moist sand, and afterwards lifted and 
sown in the proper place before germination actually takes 
