24 GARDENING INDOORS AND UNDER GLASS 
corner of the seed envelope, which is tapped lightly 
with the lead pencil, and then press each row down 
with the edge of a board about as thick as a shingle. 
Over the whole scatter cocoanut fiber (which may 
be bought of most seedmen) or light prepared soil, 
as thinly as possible — just cover the seeds from 
sight — and press the surface flat with a small piece 
of board. A very light moistening, with a plant 
sprinkler, completes the operation. 
The temperature required in which to start the 
seeds of any plant will be about the same as that 
which the same plant requires when grown. Ger- 
mination will be stronger and quicker, however, if 
ten to fifteen degrees more, especially at night, can 
be supplied. If this can be given as what the flo- 
rists term “ bottom heat,” that is, applied under the 
seed box, so much the better. 
Until germination actually takes place, there is 
little danger of getting the soil too warm, as it heats 
through from the bottom very slowly. The box 
may be placed on the steam radiator, on a stand 
over the floor radiator, or on a couple of bricks on 
the back of the kitchen range; or the box may be 
supported over a lamp or small kerosene stove, care 
being taken to have a piece of metal between the 
wood and the direct heat of the flame. For the 
first few days it may be kept in the shade, but as 
soon as the seeds push through they must be given 
all the light possible. 
