CHAPTER XV 



EARLY SEED-SOWING UNDER GLASS 



THE raising of tender plants from seed can only, of course, 

 be attempted where there is glass and where the heating 

 arrangements are capable of maintaining a moderately 

 high temperature during severe frost. For in order to achieve 

 satisfactory results it is necessary to sow the seeds of many such 

 tender subjects in January, when the danger of inclement weather 

 is greatest. By giving the young seedlings a long and steady period 

 of growth their future success will be ensured. Moreover, delay 

 is dangerous. As the season advances the rush of work out of 

 doors increases so rapidly that once the opportunity of sowing 

 some of the choicest seeds is lost it cannot be recovered. 



Here is a list of the seeds that may be sown under glass during 

 the opening weeks of the year : 



Begonia 

 Gloxinia 

 Streptocarpus 

 Cyclamen 



Petunia 



Lobelia 



Calceolaria (herbaceous) 



Canna 



In the case of most of these the seed is very small, and great 

 care must be taken in handling it lest it be wasted. Therefore 

 it is advisable not even to open the seed-packet until the moment 

 arrives for sowing its contents. 



Diagram 7, printed on Page 127, gives some useful hints as 

 to the proper method of procedure. First of all it is essential 

 that all pans, pots or boxes which are to receive the seed shall be 

 thoroughly clean. This applies equally to the crocks, or broken 

 pieces of flower-pot, which are to form the drainage. The pans 

 will have holes for drainage in the bottom, and over these it is 

 well to place three or four layers of crocks, as shown in Figure 8. 

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