THE GARDENING WORLD. 
71 
January 23, 1904. 
The Sowing of Seeds. 
In these few notes on the above subject it is not my in¬ 
tention to enter into every detail connected with seeid-sowing, 
but to give a few precautions against the sowing of seeds too 
thickly. 
There is every year a large amount of money spent through 
this practice even amongst gardeners, and more' so amongst 
cottagers, so to all those who are not well acquainted with 
the quantity of seed which ought to be sown on a given space 
■of ground, I advise them not to be guided by those quantities 
Iso often mentioned in seed lists, for I know from experience 
that, they are in most cases far too great. 
In looking- through a catalogue issued by a, firm of fifty years’ 
jstanding, I see they recommend seeds to be sown in the fol¬ 
lowing quantities: Runner Beans, 3 in. apart, 9 in. from row 
to row ; Beet, 1 oz. of seed to a. row of 25 ft. ; Carrots, 1 oz. 
ito a row of 60 ft. ; Chicory, the same; Endive, 1 oz. to 4 
square yards; Leeks, the same to 2 square yards; Lettuce, 
the same as Endive; Onions, 1 oz. to 3 square yards; and 
Peas, 1 quart, to a row of 60 ft. I quote the above for com¬ 
parison. 
Now, I will give the quantity of seed I sow of each sort, also 
the number of rows and their length : Runner Beans, double 
rows, 18 in. from row. to row, 9 in. from Bean to Bean, length 
I of rows 108 ft., Tpint of seed ; Beet, 1 oz. of seed for two rows, 
108 ft. long; Carrots, Chicory, Endive, Leeks, Lettuce and 
Onions, 1 oz. of seed for four rows, the same length. Of Peas 
I sow 2 quarts in three rows, the same length. I have always 
found these quantities quite enough for the spaces given if 
i good seed be used, and I may here remark that it is better to 
buy the best seed, as it proves cheapest in the end. 
It will be seen that six of the abovernamed articles will 
occupy 36 square yards of ground to each sort., and allowing 
Is. for every mmee of seed sown and 2s. per quart of Peas and 
Beans, it will readily be seen the vast amount of seed required 
in the former as compared with the latter, and likewise the 
excess in the cost of them. ‘ 
1 can only fancy what a thicket must result from such thick 
i sowing, besides the. time and labour involved in the thinning 
of them, which must take place as soon as they reach that 
stage of growth, otherwise they would prove useless. The 
results of thin and thick sowing may be summed up in the 
following remarks: The thinly-sown seeds would take less 
time to thin and be much stronger; they could also be left 
much longer before thinning without injury, and this is more 
n.niceable when a spell of diy weather sets in, as I have often 
known, it to do just at the time they required to be thinned. 
They will be much better plants also if required for planting 
out in other places. The crops will be throughout their 
• growth more: healthy and the produce more abundant and 
finer as compared with the thickly-sown ones. 
It may be said that it is better to have them too thick than 
too, thin, as they can easily be pulled out, but the question is>, 
do they always get pulled out ? In many cases they do not 
I until they are almost ruined. A good many people do not 
like to pull them up after they have got a. good plant, as they 
call it. I see this happen every year in this district, and 
often advise the growers to thin them, hut all to no purpose, 
although they see and recognise the good results of thin 
sowing and planting of seeds both in my own garden and the 
one under my cl Large also. 
If your ground should be, poor and you have no means; of 
enriching it in any way, then the thinly-sown, crops would 
prove, by far the best, for the simple reason that thickly-sown: 
crops: would by their number tend to make the ground still 
more poor. 
Should any readers of The Gardening World feel inclined 
to doubt the above remarks, let. them try them for themselves, 
and I feel confident they will be satisfied and acknowledge 
them to he perfectly correct, 
H. Rowles. 
Mixed Hardy Borders. 
When preparing a border for hardy plants it is of great im¬ 
portance to have the soil deeply and well trenched the autumn 
previous to planting. A moderately heavy and rich soil will 
be found more suitable to the requirements of most hardy 
plants, more so than light sandy soil, as a great number of 
the tall-growing species require a retentive soil. Manure 
should be added at the time of trenching, taking care to insure 
proper incorporation amongst the: soil, and letting it lay rough 
for the winter; by so doing it will be in better condition for- 
planting in the spring. 
The width of the border will vary according to circumstances. 
A border, say, from Id ft, to, 14 ft. wide will allow a, better and 
more satisfactory arrangement than one from 4 ft. to 5 ft. wide, 
and the taller plants will have a more pleasing and imposing 
effect than could be produced by cramming the various subjects 
together in one: of smaller dimensions. 
When planting, the chief object should be the' arranging of 
colours and height, so that all will prove equally interesting. 
The operator must have a thorough knowledge of their height 
and time of flowering, giving a, gradual rise from the front 
to the back line. Such plants as Helianthus, Delphiniums, 
Eryngium panda,nifoliurn, Campanula pyramidalis, Achillea Eu- 
patorium, Selenium' autmnnale, etc., are fit subjects to form 
the background, while Aubrietias, Saxifragas, Helianthemum 
vulgare, Sedum spurium rubruin, Primula Sieboldii, and dwarf 
varieties of Phlox, etc., will furnish the front of the border’. 
There are numerous plants to select from to fill in the body of 
the border, which should prove a- source of attraction and 
interest a,t all seasons of the year. A few ornamental shrubs 
could be used to advantage. These would furnish and give a 
charm during the winter, when the chief plants have died 
down. Spring bulbs may be employed, and will give a, charm¬ 
ing appearance during their season of flowering. These will 
practically take care of themselves when once planted, but, like 
all other hardy plants, should be properly labelled to avoid 
injury when forking and cleaning the border. 
Any vacant spaces may be turned to good and useful account 
in the summer by sowing a few choice annuals during March 
and April ; also by planting a few summer flowering subjects, 
such as Fuchsias, Plumbagos, Cannas, Heliotrope, etc. Careful 
attention will be required in frequently tying up all tall-grow¬ 
ing plants, the rtakes not being allowed to exceed the height of 
the plants, and placed in such a position as to he hidden by 
the foliage as much as possible. 
The borders will need a yearly clean up and forking over, 
adding as much leaf-soil and light manure as thought, bene- 
ficial. Overcrowding must at all times be avoided. 
Studley Castle Gardens. Wm. Jas. Penton. 
Bottled-up Fertility. 
The Bureau of Plant, Industry is pushing with considerable 
vigour the theory of soil inoculation with the bacteria of legu¬ 
minous plants, and is prepared to supply cases of “ condensed 
bacteria” to almost everyone who may apply. The function 
of these bacteria is, as is well known, to refeatilise worn-out 
lands by restoring* in a large measure the supply of nitrogen 
so necessary to the, proper development of every plant. 
Tt is found that these nitrogen-producing bacteria form little 
nodules on the roots of most of the leguminous, plants, espe¬ 
cially Beans, Peas, and Hairy Vetch, and that the soil in which 
these crops with the' nodulated roots grow is found to regain 
its fertility in a very marked degree. So thoroughly con¬ 
vinced have the Government, officials become of the value' of 
these microbes in winning worn-out land back to* usefulness that 
public announcement has been made that these bacteria, “ done 
up in cotton ” may be secured upon application. 
The bacteria are obtained by soaking inoculated soil in 
water, into which cby cotton is af terwards placed. The minute 
germs soon permeate this mass, which may be dried and kept 
indefinitely. It is sent out in this form, and when received by 
the farmer the package: is again soaked in water and the bac¬ 
teria are infused in the liquid. Then the seeds to be sown are 
