THE FLORISTS' MANUAL. 



201 



scalded with boiling water to destroy 

 the seeds or spores of any other vege- 

 table growth. The pan or pot should 

 be filled to within an inch of the fine 

 soil with crocks and moss. The sur- 

 face should be of sifted soil, which 

 should be a soft loam and leaf-mould. 

 The surface should be smooth and 

 even, and to thoroughly wet this be- 

 fore sowing you should stand the pan 

 in water. In a few moments the water 

 will soak up to the surface. Then sow 

 the seeds. 



You are so liable to sow these seeds 

 too thickly that great care must be 

 exercised. The smallest pinch between 

 your finger and thumb and a vary 

 slight movement of the same will with 

 care drop the seeds equally distribu- 

 ted. Then the smallest quantity of 

 clean sand distributed over the sur- 

 face, not enough to hide the color of 

 the soil but just a sprinkle. Then 

 press lightly the surface with the bot- 

 tom of a clean pot. Let the surface of 

 the soil be an inch below the top of 

 the pan. 



Mr. Atkins recommends covering 

 the surface with green moist moss 

 and then over it a sheet of glass. We 

 sometimes use a piece of wet cheese 

 cloth instead of the moss, which can 

 be dampened with the Scollay sprink- 

 ler, and as there is so little evapora- 

 tion there will be little need of water, 

 but the glass and moss, or cloth, 

 should be removed once a day to see if 

 they are dry in any spot. 



Directly you notice the seeds germin- 

 ating remove the covering and tilt up 

 one side of the glass, and as the little 

 plants get stronger remove the glass 

 entirely. The Scollay sprinkler will 

 water the surface while the plants are 

 very young, and when stronger you 

 can dip the pans in water and let it 

 quietly run over the surface; that is 

 better than a coarser sprinkling. When 

 the seeds are well up, and by careful 

 handling they should never be allowed 

 to draw up, the seed pans should be 

 given the fullest light, but never al- 

 lowed to get parched by the sun. 



However grown, plants may rel'sh 

 to be occasionally on the dry side and 

 then soaked. Small seedlings, par- 

 ticularly at the critical time of ger- 

 mination, should be kept at a uni- 

 form moisture. Seed pans can be kept 

 in a house 5 or 10 degrees warmer 

 than you would grow the plants, but 

 as soon as well up should be placed 

 in the temperature most suited to the 

 plant when growing. 



All seedlings, with hardly an excep- 

 tion, should be transplanted into other 

 pans or flats as soon as they can be 

 handled; particularly is this the case 

 with those that you have sown thickly. 

 A sudden drying will often wilt and 

 destroy many young seedlings, and 

 forgetfulness to shade is often disas- 

 trous. At the same time it is most es- 

 sential that the little plants should 

 have the fullest light, for if you start 

 off with a drawn, spindling plant you 

 have seriously handicapped your fu- 

 ture success. 



Now, all the points related above 



are easy to follow, but the great thing 

 is to follow them faithfully. A watch- 

 maker can throw down his tools and 

 leave his watch for a week and re- 

 turn and take up his task with the 

 loss only of time, but you can't leave 

 a week or a day, or hardly an hour. 

 It is the care and watchfulness and 

 everlasting attention and thoughtful- 

 nes that makes the gardener, far more 

 than scientific action, either mental or 

 physical. 



Don't blame the seedsman always. 

 I must at the cost of being thought 

 egotistical say that for years I never 

 blamed a seedsman when perhaps I 

 had a reason. I blamed my own 

 clumsiness, and carelessness. 

 . The man who has charge of the 

 seeds should be given plenty of time, 

 for he needs it. 



among foliage plants in a veranda box, 

 the branches of this plant often reach- 

 ing a height of eighteen inches or 

 more. 



S. Martensii is another well-known 

 and deserving species, the flat branch- 

 lets of which are quite effective among 

 the plants in a table fernery. This 

 species is very easy to increase by 

 means of cuttings, these being potted 

 up at once in light sandy soil without 

 the preliminary treatment of the cut- 

 ting bed, and only require to be kept 

 moist and sheltered from too much 

 sun and air until they take root. 



This species has also provided us 

 with one of the best variegated forms 

 found among the selaginellas, namely, 

 S. Martensii var., the branchlets of 

 which are variably marked with white. 

 S. Martensii var. also roots readily 



Selaginella Cuspidate. 



SELAGINELLA. 



Among the large number of species 

 (over 300 in all) of the selaginellas 

 there are comparatively few that are 

 used in the trade, notwithstanding the 

 fact that there are several of the spe- 

 cies easily procurable and readily 

 grown into very attractive pot plants. 

 It is true that selaginellas in general 

 prefer moisture and shade, and in con- 

 sequence are somewhat tender in fo- 

 liage, but this rule does not hold good 

 in all cases, some of the species bear- 

 ing exposure fully as well as many of 

 the commercial species of ferns. 



An example of this is found in S. 

 Braunii, a Chinese species that has 

 been long in cultivation, and that is 

 frequently, though incorrectly labelled 

 S. Willdenovi. The branches of this 

 species are very tough and wiry, the 

 leaves small and deep green in color, 

 and it not only forms a very pretty 

 plant in a 4 or 5-inch pot, but is also 

 well adapted for growing into a large 

 exhibition specimen, or to be used 



from cuttings, it being necessary, how- 

 ever, to select well-variegated pieces 

 in order to perpetuate the variegation. 



The freak of variegation is not con- 

 fined to S. Martensii, for it also ap- 

 pears in the common S. Kraussiana 

 var., and also in S. involvens, the lat- 

 ter being quite prolific in singular 

 forms. 



S. Kraussiana, also known as S. den- 

 ticulata, is perhaps the most familiar 

 example of this interesting family, 

 and is one of the most useful plants 

 we have for carpeting the surface of 

 the soil beneath other plants, or for 

 beautifying otherwise bare spaces be- 

 neath the benches of a conservatory. 



] S. cuspidata is another useful spe- 

 cies, a plant of which is illustrated 

 herewith. It will be readily noted that 

 this illustration bears some resem- 

 blance to S. Bmiliana, a variety that 

 has been very largely grown for a few 

 years past for filling table ferneries, 

 and the explanation of this is found 

 in the fact that S. Bmiliana is simply 

 a form of- S. cuspidata. Cuttings of 



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