《天工开物·上篇·乃粒》
播种前，先用稻草或麦秆包好种子，放在水里浸泡几天，等种子发芽后再撒到秧田中。苗长到一寸多，就叫做秧。
凡播种，先以稻麦稿包浸数日，俟其生芽，撒于田中，生出寸许，其名曰秧。
Before sowing, wrap the seeds with rice straw or wheat straw, soak them in water for several days, and sow them in the seedbed after the seeds germinate. When the seedlings grow to more than one inch, they are called seedlings.