PKOPA GATING PLAJNTS FKOil SEED. 81 



as a covering; or, where it is obtainable, the mould 

 formed by decayed refuse hops is of great value as a 

 covering for seeds. We have employed this exclusively 

 as a covering for seeds of all kinds for many years, with 

 results which have been vastly superior to those we had 

 when we did not use it. 



It must be borne in mind, that at first seeds do not 

 so much need a fertile soil as they do one having the 

 necessary mechanical condition ; this is found exactly in 

 the light, moisture-retaining nature of hop-mould. We 

 can give no better rule than the old one of covering seeds 

 to about their own depth with mould, although something 

 depends on the weight of the material with which they 

 are covered. One-fourth of an inch in depth of hop- 

 mould or leaf-mould would be no more than equivalent to 

 half that depth of ordinary loam ; hence the advantage in 

 using it, as it gives the seed a moist, springy covering, 

 through which the tiny germ can freely push. 



We know it is a practice very common with amateurs, 

 and many gardeners, when starting seeds in hot-bed or 

 green-house, to use flower-pots in this operation; they 

 are generally two-thirds filled with potsherds, overlaying 

 which is an inch or two of soil, and on this the seed is 

 sown. Any continuation of dry weather necessitates 

 almost daily watering of the flower-pots ; this bakes or 

 hardens the surface, while a day's inattention to them 

 dries the soil, while it is in this condition, so as to injure 

 the vitality of the seeds; hence very unsatisfactory results 

 too often follow this practice. 



For many years we have entirely discarded the use of 

 earthen flower-pots or pans for the purpose of sowing 

 seeds, and use shallow boxes instead. These we prepare 

 by cutting the common-sized soap-box in three pieces, 

 each one of a depth of about two inches. These boxes 

 are filled with the prepared soil to the depth of I 1 !, inch, 

 which is gently and evenly pressed, so as to give an en- 



