HORTICULTURAL STATUS OE THE GENUS VACCINIUM. 121 



Seed pans or boxes, about four inches deep arc half filled with 

 potsherds and covered with a layer of sphagnum, after which 

 a compost of the following composition is used : one part good 

 fibrous peat (upland preferred), one part well rotted pasture 

 sod, and one part clean fine sand, free from iron rust. The soil 

 is firmed with the hand, or, better, with a mallet. 



The seed, washed free from pulp of freshly gathered fruit, 

 is then sowed thickly over the surface, pressed down slightly 

 with a board and covered with the slightest possible sprinkling 

 of soil. Over this is put a light covering of sphagnum and water 

 is applied with a fine rose. The boxes are then placed in a cold 

 frame and allowed to get a few hard frosts. About the first of 

 January they are brought to a house with a night temperature 

 of 55 to 6o° and a range of io° higher by day, watched carefully 

 and kept moist but not saturated. As soon as the young seed- 

 lings appear, the sphagnum is gradually removed and a small 

 quantity of compost sifted in among the plants. 



When the first or second true leaf has expanded, the seedlings 

 are pricked out into fresh pans or boxes prepared like the first; 

 slight shade is given on bright days and the atmosphere of the 

 house kept moist by wetting down the walks. The plants them- 

 selves are syringed but slightly, and the temperature is kept as 

 even as possible. 



About midsummer the plants are again handled and the same 

 treatment as before is continued until about Sept. I, when more 

 air and less moisture are given, that the plants may be gradually 

 hardened off and later removed to a cold frame for the winter. 

 As frost approaches, the frames are protected with mats that the 

 foliage may be retained as long as possible. 



After the leaves drop, the frames are covered with a few 

 inches of meadow hay, or litter and left for the winter ; except 

 that the frames are opened once or twice each month to admit 

 the air. Early in April a bed, about 18 inches deep, of rich, 

 peaty loam is prepared. In this the young plants are set four 

 to six inches apart, syringed morning and evening and shaded 

 by lath screens during the brightest sunshine until thoroughly 

 established. 



By the end of August all watei is withheld, that the wood 

 may ripen off for winter. At the approach of winter a few 



