oh. iv NURSERIES 135 



bottom cut open before being put into the ground. 

 With a little practice supply -baskets can be made 

 quickly and cheaply. If 1 remember rightly, in Ceylon 

 they cost about Rs. 5 (6s. 8d.) per 1000. 



Certain seeds germinate with difficulty in a seed- 

 bed, or take a long time to germinate. For example, 

 this is often the case with teak seed, which may take as 

 long as two years to push forth its radicle, and this is 

 also the case with Ceara-rubber (Manihot Glaziovii). 

 Our knowledge of the best methods of hastening germina- 

 tion is as yet very incomplete. In some cases it has 

 been found that seed which has been stored for one year 

 germinates much more freely than fresh seed. In others 

 soaking the seed in cold, or more or less warm, water for 

 twenty-four hours assists germination. Or it may be 

 piled in moist heaps or kept moist in pits for a longer 

 or shorter period, when the moist heat thus engendered 

 causes it to germinate. With teak one of the methods 

 successfully employed consists in spreading the seed 

 on the ground in layers about 10 cm. (4 in.) thick, 

 and watering constantly, and from the third day the 

 individual seeds which have started germination can be 

 picked out and put into the seed-beds. Another some- 

 what similar method consists in putting the seed in 

 layers about 2|- cm. (1 in.) thick in a pit 3 metres (10 

 ft.) square and 45 to 60 cm. (18 in. to 2 ft.) deep, 

 with alternate layers of earth of the same thickness, up 

 to the brim of the pit, and in flooding, on alternate 

 days, five times. After this the whole mass is 

 thoroughly mixed and watered again on alternate days 

 until germination sets in. 1 It has also been said that a 

 light grass fire set alight over a layer of teak seeds 

 assists germination. 



It may also happen that delay in germination may be 

 due to a too great or too small supply of moisture, to too 

 heavy a soil, or to too little shading. Where previous 

 knowledge has not been acquired regarding the germina- 

 tion of certain seeds sown, and it turns out that they do 



1 R. S. Pearson, in Indian Forester, vol. xxxi. No. 3. 



