Artificial shade for seed beds is a necessity; at least very many more seeds will germinate when it is given. Natural shade over seed beds is _very_ bad; for, _firstly_, “the drippings” are highly injurious; and, _secondly_, shade is only required till the plants are two or three inches high; after that _any_ shade is bad, for plants brought up to the time of transplanting in shade are never very hardy. Seed beds, where water is handy, should not be dug deep. If so dug, and the soil is consequently loose a long way down, the tap-root will descend quickly, and will be too long when transplanted. As water can be given when it is necessary, there is no need for the tap-root to go down low in search of moisture.[21] A long tap-root is generally broken in “lifting” the seedling from the bed. Seed beds raised, as is the usual custom, above the paths that run between them, are objectionable. They part with moisture too freely. They should, on the contrary, be below the level of the paths, and there is another advantage in this, for the said paths can then be used partly as supports for the artificial shade, and thus do away with the expense of long wooden stakes. As the seed beds are only required until the beginning of the following rains, there is no possibility of their suffering from excessive moisture. When they are required to remain later, of course this plan of making the beds lower than the paths will not do. Seed is best sown in drills, six inches apart, and each seed two, or if space can be got, even three inches from its neighbour. This facilitates each seedling being taken up later, with more or less of a ball of earth round the roots--an all-important point (see Transplanting, page 76). The length of the beds does not signify, but the breadth must not be more than five feet, so that a man on the path on either side can reach to the middle while hand-weeding or opening the soil. After what has been said no lengthy directions for making the beds are necessary. Cut down, burn, or carry off all jungle, and then take out all roots, whether grass or other. Now make the surface level. After this mark off the beds and paths, the latter one foot broad only, with string and pegs. Then raise the path six inches above the spots marked off for the beds. This latter must not be done by earth from the beds, but by earth from outside the intended nursery. Next dig and pulverise the soil of the beds to a depth of six or seven inches, no more, and level the surface.