Sowing Seeds

The time will soon arrive f or general seed-sowing, and a hint or two in regard to it may not be out of place. Much that is sown never appears, and the seedsman is charged with selling old or poor seeds. Sometimes this may be so, but very of ten it is the owner's own fault. There is much more art in sowing seeds successf ully than people suppose, and yet it is very aimple ■when understood. Many seeds are sowu too deep, and yet if not deep enough they will dry up and not grow at all. The depth must be determined by the si ze of the seed and the character of the soil. If the soil be light and sandy, there is not so much ger of the seeds rotting from deep sowing as if the soil be stiff; and even in stifiE soil the depth will have to be determined by the condition of the soil. Suppose we are to sow a piece of oats, in land that is liable to become clotty, and this is the distinction between light and heavy land. If we can roll the land af ter sowing it would not matter much about sowing deep; but the seed would have to be hariowed in pretty well if left in a clotty condition unrolled. Indeed, if the seed were sown on ground simply flrst harrowed and then rolled, in such land as we have described, many moce seeds would do well thaa if harrowed before rolling. In other words shallow sowing, if the ground is well-pulverized and pressed firm, is more favorable than deep planting with a rough surface. Finely pulverized soil, with a well-pressed surface, is indeed the very best conditions for success with all seeds, and the shallowest kind of sowing, so that the seeds be firmly imbedded in tke soil, is the essence of good seed-growing.