Starting g>eetis in jflats 49 



It should be stored away with the flats at the end of 

 the season. 



Sow very fine seed broadcast, scattering it thinly 

 and evenly over the surface and pressing it into the 

 soil with the wood. It will be better to sow only 

 part of a packet at a time. This will usually give all 

 the plants of a kind wanted at one time, and if suc- 

 cess does not follow this first trial there will be seed 

 left for another sowing. Label plainly with the name 

 and date of sowing, and, when known, the date of 

 germination. Give the soil a thorough watering by 

 setting the flat in lukewarm water until the water 

 rises to the surface, but not above it. When the 

 entire surface is wet, remove the box, draining off 

 all surplus water by tipping on one corner, until the 

 water ceases to run off. Cover the flat with a glass 

 and sheet of white paper and place in a warm place 

 a shelf above a coal-stove or radiator is an ex- 

 cellent location, as it affords the bottom heat so es- 

 sential in starting tender seeds. Seeds while germi- 

 nating need but little light, and a box on a shelf in 

 a living-room may be so screened as not to be un- 

 sightly. A shelf under another, having a light 

 valance, is an ideal place, as the heat strikes more 

 on the bottom of the box, leaving the top cool. 

 Coarse seeds may be sown in rows and lightly cov- 

 ered, or enough fine white sand to merely cover may 

 be sifted over them. Large seed, like the Asparagus 

 Sprengeri may be pressed into the soil to twice their 



