38 SEED-SOWING. 



especially as the spring advances. In the open ground, seeds 

 should not be sown too early : there is' great risk of failure 

 before the end of March. Where early flowers are desired of 

 Annuals, it is better to sow in autumn. 



For all seeds in pots, a compost of/frz<?/y-pulverised leaf-mould, 

 peat, or other vegetable soil, with one-third its bulk of sand or 

 very sandy loam, will answer well : sow very thinly ; let the 

 pots be well drained ; cover the seed with about its own thick- 

 ness of soil, and thin out crowded seedlings early. After ger- 

 mination has once commenced, the surface of the soil should 

 on no account be suffered to become dry. 



Very small seed, such as Mimulus, Lobelia, Calceolaria, 

 should not be covered with soil, but be sprinkled thinly en the 

 soil, which should be previously watered from a fine rose. 

 Chinese Primula germinates best when covered with a layer of 

 damp moss; this seed often fails to grow from being too 

 deeply covered with soil, and many other failures are attribut- 

 able to the same cause. 



