THE FLORAL WORLD AND GARDEN GUIDE. 



273 



reed hurdles, or, what is better, with, two 

 or three posts, a few spUnes, and some 

 reed, form a permanent fence — or plant a 

 beech hedge. In the latter case, plant on 

 the level ground, immediately behind the 

 stakes which support the bank ; the rea- 

 son for this will be obvious. Tlius a series 

 of sloping south borders, protected from 

 north or easterly winds, may be made ; 

 or, should there be borders, having south 

 or any other aspect, they may be perhapa 

 exposed to cold winds, so that forward 

 crops in spring get injui'ed thereby. In 

 such a case, again, reed hurdles, or the 

 common wattled sheep hurdle, are valu- 

 able guards when placed across the bor- 

 der, either square or diagonally, if the 

 wall have not a south aspect, to catch the 

 sun's rays, thus r — 



between which the crops are to be planted ; 

 and at all times when early peas, lettuce, 

 radishes, etc., are sown, a dressing of some 

 such material as charcoal-dust, sharp sand, 

 or old peat-earth, should be spread upon 

 the surface, which will keep it open and 

 pervious to the air, and, from its dark 

 colour, absorb warmth from the sun's rays 

 and quicken vegetation. Thus it will be 

 seen that, with a little expense, and per- 

 haps a good deal of labour — without which 

 we can have but little — we may in a great 

 measure overcome the difSculties that have 

 hitherto thwarted our efforts. 



SMALL SKEDS. 



To successfully raise the very fine 

 seeds of the Calceolaria, Cineraria, Huraea, 

 Loaza, and many other such dust-like seeds, 

 requires some tact. We, therefore, infer 

 that this is one of the things upon which 

 our advice may be of service to the ama- 

 teur gardener, for there is notliing more 

 common in gardening matters than failure 

 in this ; and the failure cbieHy arises from 

 two causes, one of which is the use of 

 loose porous soil; and the other, too thick 

 sowing of the seed. In the first case, a 

 porous soil, composed perhaps principally 

 of leaf-mould, and loosely put into the pan 

 or pot, allows the very fine seeds to get 

 washed by waterings down from the sur- 

 face too deep into the soil ever to be able to 

 vegetate and fiud their way out. To re- 

 medy this get pure virgin loam from under 



the turf of a meadowy where moles throw up 

 their hillocks. A suitable soil is easily ob- 

 tained by collecting them; they are, more- 

 over free from worms — a point to be par- 

 ticularly regarded. Such soil possesses in 

 general every quality that is desirable for 

 the purpose ; viz., freedom from the seeds 

 of weeds, which the soil from a ploughed 

 field does not, and sufficient grit to pre- 

 vent it binding too hard upon the surface. 

 If, however, it is thought in any individual 

 case not to possess the latter quality, it 

 may be easily rectified by mixing a por- 

 tion of silver-sand with it. Having pro- 

 cured the soil, rub it through a sieve with 

 one-eighth of an inch meshes, which will 

 remove all stones and the roots of grass ; 

 select the pan or pot in which the seeds 

 are to be sown, place a large crock over 

 the hole, and upon that a layer of smaller 

 crocks, then a layer of moss, and fill up 

 to within an inch of the rim with soil, 

 very firmly pressed. This is the principal 

 secret ; it can scarcely be pressed too firm 

 if moderately dry at the time. Having 

 pressed and levelled the soil, set the pan 

 on the ground, and, through a fine rose, 

 water until satisfied that the soil is wetted 

 through ; let it drain for a few minutes, 

 then sow the seeds upon the surface, and, 

 according to the fineness of the seeds, so 

 must be the covering of soil over them, 

 which should be from less than a sixteenth 

 to a quarter of an inch thick, and is best 

 put on with a dredging-box. It should 

 also have a larger portion of silver-sand 

 mixed with it than the bulk of the soil 

 has. Give another watering, very lightly, 

 and do not stir the pan until the water 

 has had time to drain away, for, remember 

 that, to jar a pot of wet soil about is very 

 likely to convert it into a lump of brick- 

 earth. The second cause of failure arises 

 from sowing too thickly. It is very often 

 that a thousand seeds are sown upon a 

 space that cannot properly accommodate 

 twenty plants, so that when they germi- 

 nate they stand so thick as to engender 

 dampness amongst their tender stems, 

 which cannot dry away, as there is no 

 circulation of air between them. They 

 consequently "shank," and perhaps out o£ 

 a promising pan of a thousand seedlings, 

 ten are not preserved. Having sown the 

 seeds, watered, and allowed them time to 

 drain, place a squai'e of glass on the top 

 of the pot for the purpose of regulating 

 the admission of air and preserving the 

 surface in a proper state (between wet and 

 dry) unid the seeds vegetate, and this may 

 be done by tilting up one edge of the 

 glass more or less, or by keeping it on by 



