- English translation
Scatter seed by the full handful, and you will gather stalks by the full handful.
- Literal wording
Fill your hand with scattered seed, and you will fill it with stalks.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying advises a planter to scatter seed by the handful rather than sparingly. It pictures the first full hand as seed sown now, which later becomes plant growth that can be gathered.
The point is a practical one about sowing: the quantity of growth that comes up depends on the quantity of seed put into the ground. A full hand of seed at planting is what makes a full hand of stalks possible afterward.
- When it is used
Used in agricultural advice at planting time, it urges someone not to hold back seed. The image is specifically of a full handful scattered at sowing and a full handful of stalks gathered after the plants have grown.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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