SEED A G E, ig 



ing, but thin-walled seeds should be cleaned, to avoid the possi. 

 bility of damaging them.* 



Sowing. The soil in which seeds are sown, especially in in- 

 door culture, should be such as to allow of perfect drainage and 

 at the same time to hold moisture. Good potting soil, with a 

 liberal allowance of sharp sand, is the best for general purposes. 

 Pure sand becomes too dense, and leaf mold alone is usually too 

 loose and open. A proper combination of the two corrects both 

 faults. It is impossible to describe a good potting or seed-bed 

 soil. Some experience is essential to the best results in prepar- 

 ing it. It should be of such character that when a damp por- 

 tion is firmly compressed in the hand it will fall apart when 

 released. It should never bake. Good old garden loam, to 

 which an equal quantity of sand has been added, is usually a 

 good soil for common in-door seedage. There should be no 

 manure in soil used for seeds which produce a delicate growth, 

 as rhododendrons and kalmias. In all such cases, rotted sod or 

 leafy peat forms the best basis. The soil should be sifted and 

 thoroughly fined before seeds are put into it. Seeds usually re- 

 quire lighter soil than that in which the growing plant will flour- 

 ish. Cocoanut fiber is sometimes used in place of the soil, as it 

 holds moisture, allows of almost perfect drainage, and does not 

 become "sour." Fine dead sphagnum moss may also be used. 

 Orchid seeds are usually sown on the live moss in which the 

 parent plant is growing ; or they may be sown on damp wood or 

 cork. (See uader Orchids, Chap. VI.) Small seeds, like those 

 of cineraria and calceolaria, germinate well in very old cow- 

 dung obtained from a pasture ; the unctuous matters have dis- 

 appeared, leaving a fibrous remainder.. But all things con- 

 sidered, well-prepared soil is the most satisfactory medium 

 which can be used. Seeds of aquatic plants which are to be 

 sown in a pond may be placed in a ball of clay and dropped 

 into the water. 



*An admirable paper upon the propagation of hardy trees and shrubs 

 from seeds and the treatment of the young seedlings, by Jackson Dawson, 

 may be found in Trans. Mass. Hort. Soc. 1885, part I, 145, and also in Rep. 

 Sec. Mass. Bd. Agr. 1885, 468. 



