(lick’s Garden and floral Guide 
6 l$t Humber the Spring of 1910 Issued Annually 
HOW TO USE SEED 
Practical and Timely Hints on Sowing and Cultivating, by Prof. L. B. Judson, Cornell Agricultural College. 
and moisture are the leading essen- 
the germination of seeds, and all 
ns for planting are largely designed 
re these conditions in the proper 
Some seeds, like barley, will ger- 
even on cakes of ice, and others 
'ater, but most garden seeds require 
rarmth and constant but not excess- 
iture to sprout vigorously. 
When to sow. Wait till the ground is thoroughly warmed in 
the spring before sowing. Even the crops that do best when 
planted as soon as the ground can be worked in spring, like peas, 
radishes, and onions, gain little by being put in the first warm day, 
for the ensuing cold weather often brings them to a dead stand for a 
week or two at a time. Radishes checked in this way are much 
inferior to those sown a little later. Plants for early setting, such 
as tomatoes, cabbages, onions, etc., must be started under glass, or 
at the kitchen window, from seed sown in February or March. 
Depth to sow. Three times the diameter of the seed is a good 
general rule. Early peas, however, should be covered two inches 
deep, and the main season sorts four. Very fine seeds are best not 
covered at all, but merely sown on the surface of very finely pre¬ 
pared soil, and pressed in. In sowing small seeds with a drill, 
there is always danger of burying them too deeply; lettuce, for in¬ 
stance, can readily be planted so deeply it will never come up. 
Where the soil is stiff all seeds should be covered more lightly than 
in light mellow soils. 
Preparing the seed bed. Deep and thorough must be the 
preparation of the soil if speedy and uniform germination are to 
result. Deep plowing, followed by deep as well as surface harrow¬ 
ing, is essential to provide a proper reservoir for moisture and 
abundant pasturage for the roots. After the soil is finely leveled 
down with a smoothing harrow or planker, run over it twice at 
right angles with a Meeker harrow (a low frame set with many 
small flat disks) and the top soil will be left as fine as though it had 
been hand-raked. Soil which is fine and free from lumps is readily 
pressed into close contact with the seeds, and the necessary moist¬ 
ure assured. Where small beds are to be made, there is no better 
tool than the steel rake for fitting the soil, after it has been plowed 
or spaded. Scatter fertilizers thinly and evenly over the bed just 
as you are finishing, and rake in. Nitrate of Soda had best be 
reserved till the plants are up, and put on in two or three light 
applications, rather than a single heavy one. Never allow seeds 
to come in contact whh stable manures. 
Amount to sow. This is governed by the germinating ability 
of the seed. Seeds are often sown too thickly, making the labor 
of thinning very great, and attended with damage to the remaining 
plants. Thick seeding is advised only where crowding is expresly 
sought, as in lawns, or where the seeds are known to be partly 
worthless. Stock purchased from a reliable seedsman is above 
suspicion, but one can assure one’s self by a simple test. From an 
average sample of the seeds count out one hundred, and place them 
between two pieces of flannel cloth or blotting paper which have 
just been dipped in boiling water. Place on a dinner plate, invert 
another plate over this to keep in the moisture, and set in a warm 
place. Examine every day and remove the sprouted seeds as they 
appear. After ten days the number of seeds still unsprouted will 
show the percentage of failures to be expected. When a seed drill 
is used for small seeds, like turnip or radish, some growers prefer 
to bake one-third to one-half of the seeds to mix with the others, in 
order to have the seeding thin enough. Radishes will come much 
more evenly and produce better roots if the seed is sifted through 
ordinary window screening, rejecting all which pass through. The 
sifted seed should be sown very thinly. 
Soaking. The germination of all seeds is hastened by soaking 
them in water till they begin to swell, but this treatment is seldom 
advisable for small seeds, because they may be injured. Early 
planted peas often go into a soil too cold to induce prompt germina¬ 
tion, and a previous soaking brings them up much sooner ; and 
still more advisable is the practice if one has postponed sowing till 
the best season is past, and wishes to make up for lost time. In¬ 
stead of soaking seed for twelve to twenty-four hours, it is some¬ 
times convenient to substitute a quicker method with large and 
vigorous seeds which consists in pouring boiling water over them, 
and allowing to stand for a half an hour. 
Shading. It is a great help to sprouting seeds to have the soil 
shaded from the sun until the plants appear above ground, espec¬ 
ially in the case of small and delicate seeds, like celery. Sometimes 
boards are laid on the ground over the rows, care being taken to 
remove them as soon as the tender sprouts appear at the surface. A 
safer covering is a light mulch of lawn clippings, pine needles or 
other short litter, as the plants can push up into it without harm, 
though most of it should be raked into the space between the rows 
as soon as the plants are fairly up. Brush supported about six 
inches above the soil on a low frame also makes a good shade, and 
may be left till the plants are several inches high. The cabbage 
seed bed may be shaded, and the troublesome root maggot and 
other pests kept from it at the same time, by enclosing it with twelve- 
inch boards set on edge, and stretching a cheese-cloth across the top. 
The cloth is left till the plants are set in the field, the shade being 
beneficial throughout. 
Sowing under glass. Some plants, like tomatoes, egg plants, 
and asters, will not come to full maturity in most parts of this 
country unless the season is artificially lengthened, and this can 
most readily be done by starting the plants early under glass in the 
greenhouse, hotbed or at the kitchen window. If the plants are 
grown at a window, the box should be turned end for end each day, 
or the plants will be drawn strongly toward the light, and become 
unsuitable for setting out. It is very convenient to sow the seeds 
in a shallow box or “ flat ” four inches deep and any convenient 
size, from 12 x 16 to 18 x 24 inches. A soap box cut down to the 
proper depth is very satisfactory. The box is filled with good gar¬ 
den loam, not over rich, and the seeds sown rather thickly in shal¬ 
low drills one inch apart. Such seeds as lettuce and asters are 
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