CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - ZetaTalk

46 THE NURSERI’--MANUALOver the moss, coarse siftings from the soil may be placed,while on top only the finest and best soil should be used. Thes&lerthe S~Y~S, the more care must be exercised in the sowing.‘l’he proper depth for sowing varies directly with the sizeof the seed. A direct advantage of very fine soil for smallseeds is the greater exactness of depth of covering which itallolys. JTeq* small seecls should be sown on the surface,lq-T;hicla has pre\~iousl~~ been well firmed and leveled, and thencovered with a \.q,r thin layer of finel), sifted soil or a littleold and dead miss rubbed through a sieve. This coveringshould be scarcely deeper than thethickness of the seeds ; tha’t is, theseeds should be barely covered.BI any persons prefer pressing theFIG. 25. Planting stick. seeds into the soil with a block. Orif one has a close propagating-box,the seeds may remain on the surface and sufficient moisturewill be supplied from the atmosphere.Such fine seeds are rarely watered directly, as even themost cbarcful trthatnnent would be likely to dislodge them.The soil is usually- n-e11 W,2terecl before the seeds are sown, ormoisture rrla)’ be supplied b)T inserting the pot in water nearlyto 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. Celeryseeds, in outdoor beds, are often sown on a smoothly preparedsurface 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 theplants 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 depthfor most coarse seeds indoors. If one wishes to gauge thedepth accurately, the drills may be made by a planting stick,