PROPAGATION 25 



leaves, to prevent the soil washing down. In very shallow seed 

 containers, whether pans or boxes, the bottom part should be 

 covered with rough screenings, with finer soU above, and pressed 

 moderately firm. In covering the seeds the old rule is to cover the 

 seed with its own thickness in soil, and if followed out few mistakes 

 will be made. The coverings should not be of such a nature as to 

 bake readily; finely screened sphagnum moss mixed with sand is a 

 good substance with which to cover almost any medium-sized seeds 

 that take a reasonably short time in germinating, as it retains 

 moisture without imparting too much to the soil below. 



Very small seeds, such as those of Begonia and Gloxinia, do not 

 need any covering; but to preserve a humid atmosphere around 

 them, or to furnish the conditions necessary for germination, they 

 must be covered with something which prevents a too rapid evapor- 

 ation of moisture. This is supplied by a pane of glass, which should 

 be kept on until the seed leaves appear. It need not fit tightly, so 

 as to preclude the possibility of a slight circulation of air; where 

 this is the case the seedlings are apt to die from fungous attacks, 

 even before the seed leaves are developed. Where glass is used as 

 a covering for small seeds the soil ought to be moderately moist 

 before sowing. 



Thickly sown seed is an evil to be guarded against; a crowded 

 box or pan of seedlings, whether they be Ferns or flowering plants, 

 is next to useless, because shortly after germinating the seedlings 

 begin to get weak and never afterward make such healthy plants 

 as those which get a chance to form short, stocky growth — enough 

 at least to enable one to handle them easily during the operation of 

 pricking or potting off. Seeds, as soon as germinated, as a rule, 

 should not be kept in a shaded place, as then they are apt to get 

 "drawn"; that is, too much length between the surface of the soil 

 and the seed leaves. Most seedlings in the early part of the season 

 will stand all the sun they can get. This especially applies to 

 seedlings of such plants as Phlox Drummondi, Madagascar Vincas 

 and Verbenas. Among herbaceous perennials some of the Del- 

 phinium and Rheum, also many of the umbelliferous plants, have 

 seedlings with the petioles of the seed leaves forming a long tube 

 and looking as if they were very much "drawn," no matter whether 

 grown in sun or shade. But this is their nature, as the plumule has 

 to penetrate the tube near the base in order to reach the light, 

 instead of between the blades of the seed leaves. 



A great many kinds of plants in the seedling stage, when prick- 

 ing ofiE becomes necessary, are not of sufficient size to go into small 



