A question which every home gardener should answer before he sows a seed this spring is: How many seeds should he sow, for every plant he expects to grow?

It is not uncommon for 100 seeds to be sown in space sufficient for 10 plants. This means a crop reduced by crowding, unless much work is expanded on thinning out the excess plants.

There is good reason for sowing more seeds than will be allowed to grow; but when this is overdone, there is a waste of seed and work. Seeds that germinate slowly, such as carrots, parsley and parsnips, should be sown more thickly than others because the seedlings are feeble, and the force of many acting together helps break the soil crust and bring the sprouts to the surface.

Liberty H. Bailey, dean of horticultural teachers, expresses this opinion: "Thinning is a process of selection, and the best are allowed to remain. It is evident the chances of securing the best are greater when the gardener leaves one plant out of 10, rather than one plant out of three."

But real selection is impossible if seeds are sown so thickly the roots of the tiny plants become entangled, and it is impossible to remove single plants, without disturbing neighbors. The thickest sowing therefore should allow each seed sufficient space to develop as an individual.

The surest way with small seeds is to take a few in the hand, and let them fall through the fingers into the drill which has been prepared. Get close to the ground, and with a little practice you can quickly acquire control so that the seeds will be evenly distributed, each sufficiently distant from the next to prevent entanglement.

Keep the seeds in line as well as you can. It helps to let the garden line which was used in making the drill remain In place until the seeds have been dropped.

It helps to mix the very small seeds with dry sand before you begin to sow, using two or three times as much sand as seed. This spreads the seeds out better.