426 Auriculas from Seed, and new Stage Cover. 



Art. XIV. On raising Auriculas from Seed, and on a new De- 

 scription of Covering for an Auricula Stage. By Mr. P. Corn- 

 field, Florist, Northampton. 



Sir, 



I observe in your Magazine (Vol. IV. p. 481.) a corre- 

 spondent gives an account of his manner of keeping and of 

 sowing his auricula seeds : he says he keeps his seed in a 

 damp room till the time of sowing, and then sows it in a com- 

 mon garden frame ; and he thinks his plan better than Mr. 

 Hogg's, who keeps his seed in a dry room, and sows it in 

 front of a green-house. Now, Sir, I beg to differ from both 

 your correspondents as to the way they recommend. I shall 

 not presume to say that my way is preferable to all others, 

 but content myself with giving some account of the mode 

 I pursue in raising auricula seedlings. When my seed is 

 ripe, I prepare my soil to receive it, in the following man- 

 ner : I sift the soil, which is chiefly of bog and old rotten cow- 

 dung ; I then sprinkle it, to make it quite moist ; then I put 

 some of it into a shallow tin pan, and place it over a clear 

 fire, till it is as hot as I can bear my hand in it. I keep stir- 

 ring it till I think it has destroyed any seeds of weeds, or the 

 larvae of insects ; preparing soil enough to lay it about 3 in. 

 or 4 in. deep from the upper edge or rim of the pots. I then 

 gather the seed-pods, rub the seeds out on a sheet of paper, 

 and sow them immediately, then sift through a very fine sieve 

 just enough of soil to cover the seed, about as thick as a six- 

 pence. I place my pots in a shady situation, or where they 

 can only have the morning sun for an hour or two. I use no 

 frame or glass of any sort till after Christmas, as they will 

 generally bear a good deal of cold till that time. I find the 

 seed, which I sow as thick as nearly to cover the surface of 

 the soil, will come up plentifully in three weeks or a month, 

 and great numbers of the seedling plants will be fit to prick 

 out in November or December ; being careful to extract them 

 so as not to disturb the lesser plants. The seed will continue 

 to come up for months after; indeed, what I sowed at the 

 beginning of last August is coming up daily. I preserved a 

 portion of my last year's seed, and sowed it on the 6th of 

 April, three large pots, full as thick as before, which are now 

 up as thick as clover, and will be fit to prick out in a few 

 days. I find that new seeds make the strongest and most 

 healthy plants. 



I have at this time in use a new description of covering ferr 

 my auricula stage, which, I find, answers the purpose admir- 

 ably well, and is of the most economical kind ever yet invented. 



