PROPAGATION 135 



Watering overhead is all right in the case 

 of seeds that germinate fairly quickly, say 

 in a month or two ; but not when, as is the 

 case with some, it will take twelve or even 

 eighteen months before any signs of life are 

 visible. Under such circumstances it is very 

 difficult to prevent the surface getting hard 

 and baked, when the pots will not " take the 

 water." So, for all seeds which are slow in 

 germinating, I should advise not watering 

 from overhead, but supplying the moisture 

 from below. This may be done by placing 

 the pots in a saucer of water, when the capil- 

 lary attraction of the soil will draw it up, 

 and if there is plenty of drainage in the pots, 

 as there should always be, there is no danger 

 of the soil becoming water-logged. Personally, 

 I am trying another method, which so far 

 seems quite satisfactory, and will, I hope, 

 still further reduce the attention required. 

 As perhaps my readers may care to try it for 

 themselves, I will explain my system. Into 

 one of my small two-light frames, 6 feet by 

 4 feet, I put a wooden partition down the 

 centre from back to front. In one of these 



