APRIL 297 



difference even amongst gardeners in raising plants from 

 seed. One may succeed with all kinds of seeds, provid- 

 ing the seed is good ; whereas another gardener will 

 have the greatest difficulty even in getting ordinary 

 seeds to germinate. Of course, the kind of seeds I 

 mean are choice greenhouse, stove, or Alpine. My ex- 

 perience teaches me that a great many failures are the 

 result of sowing the seed too early in the year. The 

 particular seeds I mean are those sown early in spring, 

 either of plants for conservatory decoration or to bloom 

 in flower beds and borders during the coming summer. 

 Take, for example, those charming greenhouse flowers 

 the Cape Primrose (Streptocarpus) . Sow this seed in 

 January, and the greatest difficulty is experienced in 

 getting it to germinate ; but if sown in April, it will 

 germinate as easily as. Lobelia. But perhaps giving 

 choice seeds daily — nay, I might almost say hourly — 

 attention is the most important point of all. The seed 

 may be sown at the proper time and be placed in a suit- 

 able place ; the soU may be everything to be desired ; 

 in fact, everything used — pots, pans, boxes, and drainage 

 — may be all right, yet if they do not receive proper 

 attention for days, weeks, and months before the seed 

 grows, and after, as the case may be, failure will surely 

 follow such neglect. This attention means keeping the 

 compost in that happy condition which is neither wet 

 nor yet too dry.' 



Sometimes it is a help to put a little wet Sphagnum 

 moss on the top of the pot under the piece of glass, or 

 the pot may be covered with paper. The great thing to 

 aim at with all seeds, whether large or small, is to try 

 to keep the soil sufficiently moist, without having to 

 water them until they begin to grow. This is difficult, 

 well-nigh impossible, with those seeds which are a long 

 time in the soil before they germinate. StUl, this is 



