HARDY FLOWERS FROM SEED 31 



always obtainable, though many seedsmen now sell potting 

 soil in sacks for every purpose. Having got the soil into a 

 proper condition of dryness, the next point will be to prepare 

 the boxes or pots for 



Sowing the Seeds. Boxes of a suitable size are easily 

 obtained, those of the chocolate and sweetmeat class being 

 especially suitable. The best class of box is one five or 

 six inches deep, not more, and about eight inches or so long. 

 In the bottom .make a few holes the size of a halfpenny, 

 or cut out a narrow strip at each side to allow the water to 

 escape. This done, place some rough material, such as 

 small broken coke or cinders, in the bottom to fully an inch 

 deep, and place two inches of soil on this. Gently press it 

 down to make it moderately firm and quite level at the same 

 time. Scatter a little sand over the soil before setting the seeds. 

 All is quite ready for sowing the seeds, which should be 

 turned out of the packet on to a sheet of ordinary hotepaper, 

 or any sheet of paper that can be folded in half. The seeds 

 run into this fold in the paper, and one may regulate the 

 sowing an important point. If sown from the seedsman's 

 packet, it is just possible that fifty seeds will drop down in 

 one place, and none in another, and the result will be a 

 fight for existence when the seedlings appear above the soil. 

 Carnation seed is large, and may even be regulated with the 

 fingers if it falls too thickly, but many other seeds cannot 

 be treated in this way. Take time and care in scattering the 

 seeds quite evenly and thinly over the surface, and finally 

 with a little fine and quite sandy soil cover them not more 

 than a quarter of an inch deep. Seeds of Polyanthus, Prim- 

 roses, and Auriculas do not want quite so much soil to cover 

 them, and a little soil dredged over them, so to speak, will 

 suffice. The covering soil should be carefully sprinkled on so 

 as not to disturb the seeds, and when all is completed will 

 remain between the soil and the top of the box. By placing 

 a sheet of glass over the box the safety of the seed is insured. 

 Give water only through a small fine rose watering-can. 

 Almost all the smaller seeds may be raised in boxes, and in a 

 sunny window where no frame is at hand, but a frame is 

 better. One gentle watering from a fine rose can will suffice 

 for some days after sowing, and if the glass sheet be covered 

 with a piece of sack or old carpet, the growth of seedlings 

 will be promoted. When the seedlings appear through the 

 soil tilt the glass sheet about a quarter of an inch on the one 

 side to admit air, and discontinue the covering. The larger 

 seeds, as Hollyhocks, Lupins, and Sweet Peas, may all be 

 sown in the open garden. 



