THE AURICULA. 145 



that plants not only draw through their leaves part 

 of their nourishment, but that the leaves perform 

 the necessary work of converting the water received 

 at their roots into the nature and juices of the plants; 

 hence it is that the lives of plants depend so imme- 

 diately on their leaves. 



RAISING OF PLANTS FROM SEED. 



1 HAVE already extended the subject of Auriculas 

 farther than I intended : I will, therefore, conclude 

 it with an observation or two respecting the raising 

 of plants from seed. 



Whatever seed you collect during the summer, 

 keep it in a dry state till the time of sowing, which, 

 if in the front part of a greenhouse, the best of 

 all situations, should not be later than the 1st of 

 February : by sowing then, you will be enabled to 

 get your seedling plants into a forward state during 

 summer, and may reckon on their blooming the 

 following spring. 



H 



