PROPAGATION OF PLANTS BY SEEDS. 109 



We know it is a practice, very common with amateurs 

 and many gardeners, when starting seeds in a hot-bed or 

 greenhouse, to use flower-pots in this operation ; they are 

 generally two-thirds filled with potsherds, overlaying 

 which is an inch or two of soil, and on this the seed is 

 sown. Any continuation of dry weather necessitates 

 almost daily watering of the flower-pots ; this bakes or 

 hardens the surface, while a day's inattention to them 

 dries the soil while it is in this condition, so as to injure 

 the vitality of the seeds ; hence very unsatisfactory re- 

 sults too often follow this practice. 



For many years we have entirely discarded the use of 

 earthen flower-pots or pans for the purpose of sowing 

 seeds, and use shallow boxes instead. These we prepare 

 by cutting the common-sized soap-box into three pieces, 

 each one of a depth of about two inches. There boxes 

 are filled with the prepared soil to the depth of one inch 

 and one-half, which is gently and evenly pressed, so as 

 to give an entirely level surface ; the seeds are then sown, 

 and a light covering, from one-sixteenth to one-fourth 

 of an inch thick, according to the size or strength of 

 seed, is sifted over them, through a sieve having a mesh 

 only one-tenth of an inch. The covering is gently 

 pressed to prevent the air penetrating the loose soil and 

 drying up the seeds ; watering, which it is well to avoid 

 as much as possible, is thus rendered less necessary. Be 

 careful, however, not to let them suffer for moisture, as 

 in the weak condition of seedlings, most plants are quickly 

 injured by neglect of this kind, and, even with all pos- 

 sible care, we experience serious losses. Many varieties 

 will "damp off," as we term it, just as the first rough 

 leaves are being formed ; this, however, is not the result 

 of excessive moisture, as it occurs just as quickly in a 

 dry temperature as in a moist one. It is evidently caused 

 by the same insidious spiderweb-like substance that is 

 known among gardeners as the "fungus of the cutting 



