2 SEEDAGE. 



very small seeds is to sow ihem in a pot of loose and sandy 

 loam which is set inside a larger pot, the intermediate space 

 being filled with moss, to which, alone, the water is applied. 

 This device is illustrated in Fig. i. The water soaks through 

 the walls of the inner pot and is supplied gradually and con- 

 stantly to the soil. Even in this case it is necessary to pre- 

 vent soaking the moss too thoroughly, especially with very 

 weak seeds. When many pots are required, they may be 

 simply plunged in moss with the same effect. The soil 

 should be simply very slightly moist, never wet. Moisture 

 is sometimes supplied by setting the seed-pot in a shallow 

 saucer of water, or it may be sufficient to simply place it 

 in the humid atmosphere of a propagating-box. Large but 

 weak seeds may be laid upon the surface of the soil in a 

 half-filled pot, covered with thin muslin, and then covered 

 with loose and damp loam. Every day the pot is inverted, 

 the covering taken off and fresh soil added. A modifica- 

 tion of this plan, for small seeds, can be made by placing 

 the seeds between two layers of thin muslin and inserting 

 them in damp loam, which is frequently renewed to avoid 

 the extremes which would result from watering or from 

 allowing the soil to become dry. In these last operations, 

 no water is applied to the seeds, and they constitute one 

 of the most satisfactory methods of dealing with seeds of 

 low viability. They are essentially the methods long ago 

 used by Knight, who laid such seeds between two sods 

 cut from an old and dry pasture. 



Even sound and strong seeds should be watered with 

 care. Drenchings usually weaken or destroy them. The 

 earth should be kept simply damp. To insure comparative 

 dryness in indoor culture, some loose material, as pieces of 

 broken pots or clinkers, should be placed in the bottom of 

 the pot or box to afford drainage. It should be borne in 

 mind, however, that the seed-bed should be approximately 

 equally moist throughout its depth. The waterings should, 

 therefore, be copious enough to moisten the soil throughout. 



