CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - Pole Shift Survival Information

46 THE NURSERI’--MANUAL
Over the moss, coarse siftings from the soil may be placed,
while on top only the finest and best soil should be used. Thes&ler
the S~Y~S, the more care must be exercised in the sowing.
‘l’he proper depth for sowing varies directly with the size
of the seed. A direct advantage of very fine soil for small
seeds is the greater exactness of depth of covering which it
allolys. JTeq* small seecls should be sown on the surface,
lq-T;hicla has pre\~iousl~~ been well firmed and leveled, and then
covered with a \.q,r thin layer of finel), sifted soil or a little
old and dead miss rubbed through a sieve. This covering
should be scarcely deeper than the
thickness of the seeds ; tha’t is, the
seeds should be barely covered.
BI any persons prefer pressing the
FIG. 25. Planting stick. seeds into the soil with a block. Or
if one has a close propagating-box,
the seeds may remain on the surface and sufficient moisture
will be supplied from the atmosphere.
Such fine seeds are rarely watered directly, as even the
most cbarcful trthatnnent would be likely to dislodge them.
The soil is usually- n-e11 W,2terecl before the seeds are sown, or
moisture rrla)’ be supplied b)T inserting the pot in water nearly
to its rim for a few minutes. If water is applied from a rose,
a thin c4oth shoulrl first be spread on the soil to hold it. Celery
seeds, in outdoor beds, are often sown on a smoothly prepared
surface and art? then pressed in by means of the feet or a board.
Cloj.er to pre\*tlnt evaporation should be given all small seeds.
This may be a board or a slate slab at first, but as soon as the
plants appear glass should be substituted to admit light.
(See pages 16, 17.)
Large seeds JPmand u L -----_^-_
much less care as to depth of covering,
as a rule. One-fourth or one-half inch is a .good depth
for most coarse seeds indoors. If one wishes to gauge the
depth accurately, the drills may be made by a planting stick,