28 SEED-SOWING. 



well-drained pans of fine moist earth, and placed in a cool 

 frame or in heat, according to the season of the year and the 

 hardiness of the plant. Some prefer to water the compost 

 first and then sprinkle the seeds on the moist surface, while 

 others prepare the pan and sow the seeds on the smoothened 

 surface, and then press them with a flat bit of circular board 

 like that used to smooth the sand on the surface of pots for 

 fine hard-wooded cuttings ; and as it is next to impossible to 

 water fine seeds like those named with the- finest rose without 

 displacing them or washing them away, it is best to plunge the 

 pot or pan for a minute or two in a shallow vessel of tepid water 

 until the whole body of compost becomes moistened by capil- 

 lary attraction. In both cases, a covering of damp brown 

 paper or canvas is spread over the pot or pan, to prevent the 

 soil from becoming dry by evaporation before the seeds ger- 

 minate. Some use a light covering of damp moss for the 

 same purpose ; but paper, or a sheet of glass, is much handier, 

 and decidedly the best. Care should be taken to remove the 

 paper or moss as soon as germination is observed to have 

 taken place. The great essentials to the growth of seeds are 

 heat and moisture together with air, and darkness is often 

 advisable (if not actually necessary) until the young seedlings 

 appear above ground. Nearly all seeds, even those of hardy 

 plants, germinate best in a moderate heat of, say, 50 to 60, with 

 a humid atmosphere, notwithstanding that the seeds of some 

 plants, as Groundsel (Senecio), Chickweed (Stellarid), or Shep- 

 herd's Purse (Capsella), will germinate readily in the open air 

 during the winter season, or when the thermometer is only a 

 degree or two above the freezing-point. As a general rule, the 

 seeds of all plants germinate better in a temperature at least 

 ten degrees above that in which the plant grows naturally. 

 The seeds of all hardy and half-hardy plants grow freely in 

 a genial airy temperature of from 50 to 65. Intertropical 

 plants, or such as require the protection of a warm greenhouse 

 for most part of the year, should be sown in a heat of from 65 

 to 80 ; while seeds of stove-plants, from the warmest parts of 

 the world, should be sown on a genial bottom-heat of 75 to 95. 

 Dr Regel gives the following information as to temperatures : 

 The minimum temperature at which germination takes place is 

 from 38 to 40 for Lentils, Clover, Lucerne, Wheat, Barley, Rye, 

 Mustard, Radishes, and Cress ; 43 for Carrots, Broad Beans, 

 and Spinach 45 for summer-blooming plants ; 48 for Buck- 

 wheat and Maize; 50 for Beans, and 55 for Pumpkins. The 

 maximum temperature at which germination takes place is 



