12 
Seedlings germinate more uniformly in sand than in 
soil and when they are pushing up the sand rolls to the 
side. Seed sown in soil and covered with a layer of soil 
often have difficulty in pushing up, or if the seedlings 
are close together a whole crust of soil is pushed up, much 
to their detriment. Seedlings are much more easily sepa- 
rated for transplanting when grown in sand than in soil. 
Because sand drains so readily it always warms up quick- 
er and this hastens germination. The better germination 
in sand is well illustrated by the tomato seedlings shown 
in figure 1, plate 10. One pot contained pure sand, the 
other soil, and the two pots were treated alike in all 
respects. If the sand is dirty, it should be washed. To 
do this a bucket is filled about half full of sand and water 
run in through a hose. The dirt, being lighter than sand, 
will float and will be carried over the top of the bucket. 
Moving the hose about will rapidly free the dirt, and 
when the water is clear the sand is clean. 
Sowing the seed.—Plate 9 shows the essential opera- 
tions in the sowing of seed in boxes, and with few excep- 
tions the same methods hold true if pots or any other 
receptacles are used. As previously mentioned, the box 
should have holes or cracks in the bottom. The first step 
is to cover these openings with broken crock, stones, etc. 
The box should then be filled to overflowing with sand or 
soil, leveled with a stick, and tamped lightly. The sur- 
face of the soil will then be about 3% of an inch below the 
top edge of the box. If the soil or sand is an inch below 
the top of the box much trouble may be anticipated with 
the damping-off disease due to the poorer air circula- 
tion. After the soil is tamped, the rows are marked 
with a stick or plant label, the stick being pressed into 
the surface to the depth wanted for the seed. For fine 
seed the surface is barely marked, for large seed a deeper 
trench is required. Before making the rows the soil or 
sand must be moist, for if dry it immediately rolls back in 
the trench when the stick is withdrawn. After the rows 
are made the seed is ready for sowing, and for conveni- 
ence one corner of the seed packet is torn off and the 
packet lightly tapped to secure an even distribution of 
PUDOR’S, INC., PUYALLUP, WASH. 
