For the home garden and the school garden, and when only small quantities of any one variety are planted, a machine is hardly desirable and hand planting is preferable.

The rows are marked out with the garden marker, or the end of a hoe or rake handle (Fig. 47), using a line or the edge of a board as a guide.  The seeds are then carefully and evenly dropped in the mark or furrow.

The covering is done with the hand or a rake or hoe, and the soil is pressed over the seeds by patting it with the covering tool or walking on the row and pressing it with the feet.  This pressing of the soil over the seeds is to bring the particles of soil close to each other and to the seed so that film water can climb upon them and moisten the seed sufficiently for sprouting.

A convenient way of distributing small seeds like those of turnip and cabbage, is to take a small pasteboard box or tin spice or baking-powder box, and punch a small hole in the bottom near one end or side.  Through this the seeds can be sifted quite evenly.

For the larger operations of the farm and market garden, hand and horse-power drills and broadcasters are generally used, though some farmers still plant large fields by hand.

The grasses and clovers are generally broadcasted by hand or machine, and are then lightly harrowed and are generally rolled.

The small grains (wheat, oats, etc.) are broadcasted by many farmers, but drilling is considered better.  With the grain drill the seed is deposited at a uniform depth and at regular intervals.  In broadcasting, some of the seeds are planted too deep, and some too shallow, and others are left on the surface of the soil.

From experiment it has been found that there is a loss of about one-fifth of the seed when broadcasted as compared with drilling.

As in the case of grass seed, the grains are generally rolled after sowing.

Corn is planted by hand, or by hand- and horse-corn-planters, which drop a certain number of seeds at any required distance in the row.

There are a number of seed drills made for planting vegetable seeds which are good machines.

The main points to be considered in seed drills or seed planting machines are: 

Simplicity and durability of structure.

Ease of draft.

Uniformity in quantity of seed planted, and in the distances apart and depth to which they are planted.

The distances apart at which seeds are planted vary according to the character of the plant.  Bushy, spreading plants and tall plants require more room than low and slender-growing plants.

Visit the neighboring hardware stores and farms and examine as many seed-growing tools as possible to see how they are constructed and how properly used.  Practice planting with these tools, if possible.

Illustrations of grain drills and other seed-planting machines will be found in seed catalogues, hardware catalogues, and in the advertising columns of agricultural papers.