AURICULA. 211 



sorts, to prevent accidental impregnation. As the 

 capsules ripen they should be cut off singly, and 

 kept in a dry situation until the time of sowing, 

 which is principally performed in the month of 

 February. " Maddoek sows this seed in boxes, 

 and covers it as light as possible; and sets the 

 boxes in a hot-bed, preserving a moderate and 

 equal degree of warmth both day and night, ad- 

 mitting fresh air occasionally. The advantage of 

 this mode is, that it forces every live grain into 

 vegetation in about three weeks, if the warmth of 

 the bed be properly kept up ; whereas, by the more 

 usual mode of exposure to the open air, the greater 

 part does not vegetate till the second year ; and 

 the weaker seeds, which are probably the most 

 valuable, seldom vegetate at all. 



" The earth and seed must always be kept 

 moderately moist, but never very wet : the best 

 method of watering it, is by means of a hard 

 clothes-brush, dipped into soft water, which has 

 had its chill taken off by standing in the sun ; the 

 hair side being quickly turned upwards, and the 

 hand rubbed briskly over it, will cause the water to 

 fly off, in an opposite direction, in particles almost 

 as fine as dew. If the surface of the earth in the 

 boxes is inclining to become mossy or mouldy, it 

 must be stirred all over very carefully with a pin, 

 about as deep as the thickness of a shilling. When 



