SEEDS, MODE OF SOWING. 458 SEEDS, MODE OF SOWING. 



parched or dry overnight ; such omissions, 

 when repeated often, prove injurious to 

 the vital germs, and cause the eventual 

 loss of the produce. 



Preparation of Seeds before Sowing. The 

 following instances will serve as types of 

 the treatment of different sorts of seeds. 

 The seeds of Martynia, abronia, and tro- 

 paeolum generally require peeling previ- 

 ously. Cobaea seed is best planted edge- 

 ways. Geranium seed pricked in, leaving 

 the feathery tail or pedicle out. Calceolaria 

 seed germinates best without heat. The 

 seeds of ipomaea and convolvulus, when 

 very dry or as old imported seed, often 

 refuse to vegetate, should be taken up 

 and slightly cut on the surface, or on the 

 edge, apart from the eye or vital speck 

 (where it exists outwardly), which should 

 be preserved from injury. Rhodanthe and 

 other seeds of similar character should be 

 well soaked in water before sowing. Cy- 

 clamen should be sown as soon as ripe. 

 Orchid seed may be sown on a rough- 

 barked block, and suspended in the shady, 

 humid atmosphere of a tropical stove or 

 orchid house ; warmth and continued 

 moisture are essential. Fern seed should 

 be sown on the surface of rather coarse 

 heath soil, without further covering of soil ; 

 place over it a flat square of glass, or a 

 bell-shaped one ; place the pot in a dish, 

 and keep the surface soil uniformly moist 

 and covered until the plant germs are well 

 developed, after which gradually admit air. 

 Seeds of Clianth^^s Dampieri should be 

 sown singly, each in a small pot. Mistletoe 

 seeds should be inserted within the bark, 

 on the under side of the branches, to 

 prevent the birds from feeding upon them. 



Soil for Surface Covering. In the sow- 

 ing of exotic seeds in pots, especially those 

 of a small and delicate structure, and those 

 in which germination is slow and irregular, 

 one very essential point consists in obtain- 

 ing the most suitable quality of soil for 



surface covering. Whilst it is important 

 that the bulk of soil used in such opera- 

 tions should be well pulverised, and pro- 

 portionately porous throughout, in order 

 to admit of a free and quick growth 

 during and after germination (which a too 

 retentive and close quality is unfavourable 

 to), it is still more important that the soil 

 with which the seed is covered should not 

 only be well pulverised, but also rendered 

 less retentive of moisture ; for effecting 

 which, where prepared soils are not at 

 hand, that which is intended either as 

 mixture or otherwise should be passed 

 through a suitable sieve, and also be thinly 

 spread in the open air, or exposed to the 

 influence of artificial heat until thoroughly 

 dry or parched. To admit of using the 

 soil thus dried for covering seeds, it is 

 readily sprinkled with pure water, and 

 passed through the hands until it admits 

 of being easily spread. By thus reducing 

 the retentive quality of the soil, it admits 

 of a more uniform and healthy circulation 

 of moisture during the first growth of the 

 young seedlings, and, moreover, preserves 

 the surface soil from becoming stagnant by 

 the incipient germination of moss, &c., 

 brought on in unprepared soils by repeated 

 after - waterings. Two very important 

 benefits arise from using a less retentive 

 quality of soil for covering seeds : first, 

 in admitting of a proportionately greater 

 depth of soil upon the seeds, and yet 

 being equally pervious to the atmosphere, 

 thus acting as a preserving medium in the 

 case of small and delicate seeds exposed 

 to extreme alternations of temperature ; 

 secondly, by dispensing to a great extent 

 with the excess of sand in mixture, which 

 is too often used in covering seeds gener- 

 ally. Beyond the requisite amount of sand 

 as a mechanical agent or force in modify- 

 ing too retentive soils, it only impoverishes 

 in proportion to its bulk. The more nutri- 

 tive the elements of soil for the growth of 



