SEEDS PROTECTED BY LATH FRAME. 



CAUSES OF FAILURE. 



In the first place, however, \ve will examine reasons why seeds often fail to grow. If seeds 

 are planted too deep, they either rot in the damp, cold earth, for the want of warmth necessary to 

 their germination, or, after their germination, perish before the tender shoots can reach the sun 

 and air ; and thus that which was designed for their nourishment proves their grave. 



If the soil is a stiff clay, it is often too cold at the time the seeds are planted to effect their 

 germination ; for it must be understood that warmth and moisture are necessary to the germina- 

 tion of seeds. Neither of these will do alone. Seeds may be kept in a warm, dry room, in 



dry sand or earth, and they will not grow. They may 

 be placed in damp earth, and kept in a low tempera- 

 I ture, and they will most likely rot, though some seeds 

 ; will remain dormant a long time under these circum- 

 stances. But place them in moist earth, in a warm 

 room, and they will commence growth at once. In- 

 deed, if seeds become damp in a cold store-room they 

 rot, while if the room is warm they germinate, and 

 thus become ruined, so that seedsmen have to exer- 

 cise great care in keeping their seeds well aired and 

 dry. This accounts for the " sprouting" or " growing" of wheat in the sheaf, when the weather 

 is warm and showery at harvest time, and shows why farmers are so anxious for good harvest 

 weather, so that they may secure their grain perfectly dry. Another difficulty with a heavy soil 

 is that it becomes hard on the surface, and this prevents the young plants from " coming up ;" 

 or, if, during showery weather, they happen to get above the surface, they become locked in, and 

 make but little advancement, unless the cultivator is careful to keep the crust well broken ; and 

 in doing this the young plants are often destroyed. 



If seeds are sown in rough, lumpy ground, a portion will be buried under the clods, and will 

 never grow ; and many that start, not finding a fit soil for their tender roots, will perish. A few 

 may escape these difficulties, and flourish. 



All of the foregoing cases show good reason for failure, but there is one cause which is not so 

 apparent. The soil, we will suppose, is well prepared, fine as it can be made, and of that loamy 

 or sandy character best fitted for small seeds. We will suppose, too, that the seeds were sown 

 on the surface, with a little earth sifted over them, and that this was not done until the season 

 was so far advanced as to furnish the warmth necessary to secure vegetation. Under these very 

 favorable circumstances many seeds will grow ; and if the weather is both warm and showery, 

 very few will fail. But if, as is very common at the season 

 of the year when we sow our seeds, we have a succession of 

 cold rain storms, many of the more tender kinds will perish. 

 A night's frost will ruin many more. If, however, the 

 weather should prove warm and without showers, the sur- 

 face will become very dry, and the seeds, having so slight SEEDS GROWING IN POTS. 

 a covering, will be dried up and perish as soon as they germinate, and before the roots attain 

 sufficient size and strength to go down in search of moisture. Of course, the finer and 

 more delicate seeds, and those natural to a more favorable climate, suffer most. 



HOT-BEDS AND COLD-FRAMES. 



It is to overcome the evils above suggested that hot-beds are useful. By being protected at 

 the sides and ends with boards, and covered with glass, they confine the moisture which arises 

 from the earth, and thus the atmosphere is kept humid and the surface moist, and the plants are 

 not subjected to changes of temperature, as a uniform state can be maintained no matter what 

 the weather may be. The bottom heat of the hot-bed warms the soil, and enables the grower to 

 put in his seed early, and obtain plants of good size before the soil outside is warm enough to 

 receive the seed. Care, however, is required to prevent scorching the young plants. In 

 bright days the heat is intense inside the frame, and unless air is freely given, or some 

 course taken to obstruct the rays of the sun, most likely a great portion of the plants will be 

 ruined. Some time since, I was called to examine a hot-bed, as the seeds planted did not grow, 

 when I found they had been all burned up, except a few along the edges that were shaded 



