PROPAGATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND CULTUPvE. 27 



left rougbx — that is, not pressed down clo2e and even. The 

 pots should be set in pans or feeders, in which water should 

 be kept, so that the soil may be constantly damp. By this 

 means, the soil may be kept at the required degree of con- 

 tinual dampness ; but if, by any chance, sourness, arising 

 from constant saturation, seems to be taking place, the 

 supply should be withheld for a time. A shady situation, 

 under the influence of a temperature proper for the indi- 

 vidual kinds, should be selected for these nursery pots. 



When all is in readiness, the spores should be thinly 

 scattered over the rough surface of the soil, and the glass 

 cover at once put on. It is necessary to be somewhat 

 careful in the act of sowing, as the spores, from their 

 lightness and minuteness, are liable to be dispersed in the 

 atmosphere, instead of being lodged on the seed-bed pre- 

 pared for them ; from the same cause, they are apt to cling 

 about the surface of the paper — even though it be glazed — 

 in which they may have been enclosed. A bell-glass may 

 be employed to cover the soil after sowing, but we have 

 been content to point out the simplest means and materials 

 by which the end in view may be attained. 



A simple and convenient contrivance for sowing the 

 spores, by which the progress of germination might be 



