128 SATURDAY IN MY GARDEN 



there is no safer method of supplying moisture than that of 

 plunging the pots to their rims in a pail of tepid water, and holding 

 them securely in position until the soil has been well saturated. 

 If the glass be kept on the pots the operation need not be re- 

 peated for several days, but it will be necessary to wipe dry the 

 under side of the glass each morning, so that an excess of moisture 

 shall not cause the seedlings to " damp off " and rot. 



The next operation is that known as " pricking off," and it is 

 a delicate one. The seedlings of begonias, gloxinias, lobelias and 

 calceolarias are so tiny that it is almost impossible to single them 

 out without damaging them. The best plan, therefore, is to lift 

 a small cluster in a bunch and transplant it whole into a box or 

 pan filled with fresh soil. The little clusters of seedlings should 

 be placed an inch apart so as to allow room for development, 

 and then a few weeks later it will be found possible to transplant 

 again, and this time singly, into thumb pots. The operation must 

 be repeated again and again as the pots become full of roots, 

 until by the beginning of June the plants are ready either for 

 bedding out or for placing into their flowering-pots, care of 

 course having been taken in the case of bedding-out plants that 

 they have previously been thoroughly hardened off in a cold 

 frame. 



The seed of canna or Indian shot is large and hard. So hard is 

 it, indeed, that it needs special treatment to ensure its germina- 

 tion. This consists in soaking the seed in warm water for thirty- 

 six hours. Even after this long immersion germination may not 

 be certain, and the plan is frequently adopted of filing away a 

 piece of the shell of the seed. Care must be taken, however, 

 that the germ is not injured. In order to ensure successful 

 growth the pots containing the seed must be kept in a temperature 

 of 75 at first. As fast as the seedlings are ready for moving they 

 must be transferred singly to small pots. 



