I'HE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



(not a saucer) pot or small wooden box, 

 carefully avoiding a match box. I prefer 

 the latter to either of the others men- 

 tioned, as the seed does not dry out as 

 quickly as in a seed pan or pot. The box 

 should be about two inches deep with 

 holes bored through the bottom sufficient 

 for drainage ; place broken pot or gravel 

 in the box nearly all over, then put a thin 

 layer of sphagnum or common moss 

 over this, fill to within half an inch of 

 the top with soil composed of one part^ 

 dry sand, one part leaf mould and four 

 parts of dry loamy potting soil mixed 

 well together, and sifted through a fair- 

 ly fine sieve before putting into the box ; 

 press down firmly and evenly ; then 

 cover this again with a quarter' of an 

 inch of finer sifted soil of eoual parts of 

 dry loamy soil, sand, and leaf mould 

 mixed well together, and pressed firm 

 and quite level ; then water thoroughly 

 so as to soak all the soil. If any uneven 

 places are seen after watering sift in 

 enough of the last named compost to 

 level up, water again slightly and sow 

 the seed at once, which should be of as 

 good a strain as possible, that is, saved 

 from good varieties. The seed being very 

 minute, will have to be carefully and 

 barely covered with fine dry leaf mould ; 

 I prefer to shake it over the seed with 

 the fingers to sifting it over, as it can be 

 done more evenly, in fact, my usual 

 method with all very fine seeds is to use 

 only the tip of the first finger and 

 thumb ; it is a slow method, but sure. 

 A layer of sphagnum or common moss 

 may be laid over the seed to prevent 

 washing when watering, but care must 

 be taken to remove it as soon as the 

 plants appear ; water carefully with tepid 

 or lukewarm water at this stage, but 

 only when appearing to be dry. Place 

 the box in a warm, partially shaded 

 place near the glass, where the hot mid- 

 day sun does not strike directly on it. as 



a few minutes hot sun will burn up 

 the germinating seed or young plants 

 and destroy them. It is the safest plan 

 to put a pane of glass over the box or 

 pot, and then shade with a sprinkle of 

 sand just to cover the glass, or shade 

 lightly m any other way. The glass can 

 be kept close at first, but when the 

 seeds start into growth, especially at 

 this stage, will the tuberous begonia 

 thrive in a close humid atmosphere. 



When the plants are large enough to 

 handle, say when the second leaf is 

 formed, take a pointed label or stick 

 which has been dipped in the water 

 first, with this stick take the young 

 seedlings from the box, and plant in a 

 carefully prepared box or pot, prepared 

 in the same way, but with much less 

 drainage than for the seed box, and in 

 a similar compost, excepting that the 

 compost need not be sifted so finely. Be 

 careful to water the seedlings before 

 commencing to transplant them, so as to 

 get all the soil possible to adhere to the 

 roots ; place the seedlings about an inch 

 apart each way and when large enough, 

 shift into suitable sized pots, two and a 

 half or three-inch pots will be about the 

 size. These should be filled with a com- 

 post, similar to thatrecommended for the 

 seedlings, with about half the proportion 

 of leaf mould and sand to the loamy pot- 

 ting soil, and possibly less drainage, as 

 moving the drainage material when pot- 

 ting, if in large quantities may possibly 

 injure the roots of the plant. 



The next shift or re-potting will be 

 into the flowering pots, when the plants 

 have attamed sufficient growth of roots 

 and foliage ; 5 or possibly 6 inch pots 

 will be suitable, according to strength of 

 plant to be potted ; or they may be 

 planted in the border at once, if all dan- 

 ger of frost is over — possibly the middle 

 of June will be early enough. Plant in a 

 rich loamy soil and in a partially shaded 



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