44 
SOWING SEEDS 
j^CHAP. III. 
described in the chapter on digging, and 
the reasons why it is necessary have been 
there given; but why seeds should be firmly 
embedded in it, seems to require explana¬ 
tion, It is well known that gardeners, before 
they either sow a bed in the kitchen-garden, 
or a patch of flower-seeds in the flower-gar¬ 
den, generally firm the ground,” as they 
call it, by beating it well with the back of 
the spade, or pressing it with the saucer of 
a flower-pot; and there can be no doubt 
that this is done in order that the seeds may 
be firmly imbedded in the soil. When 
lawns are sown with grass-seeds also, the 
seeds are frequently rolled in, evidently for 
the same purpose. The only question, there¬ 
fore, is, why is this necessary; and the an¬ 
swer appears to be, that a degree of perma¬ 
nence and stability is essential to enable 
nature to accommodate the plant to the situa¬ 
tion in which it is placed. When there is 
this degree of permanence and stability, it 
is astonishing to observe the efforts that 
plants will make to provide for their wants ; 
but without it, seeds will not even vege¬ 
tate. Thus we often see large trees springing 
