7s Propagation and Training of Plants, 



soon dry them up, and destroy the germinating power 

 of the seeds; a piece of brown paper tacked down over 

 them till they are up will do very well. When you 

 are going to fill a pot to sow seeds in give it good 

 drainage and shake the soil down level in the potj 

 then sow your seeds on the surface, and with a flat 

 piece of wood gently press the seed and soil level, then 

 scatter some finely sifted soil loosely over it. Water 

 with a fine rose, taking great care not to wash the 

 seeds up or disturb them. Never let the seed pots get 

 dry, and after the seeds are up take good care to wet 

 the seedlings as little as you can as long as they 

 are in their seed leaves ; in case they damp away, 

 contrive to water round the edge of the pot or box and 

 in open spaces through. You can easily give all 

 your different kinds of seeds their proper depth in your 

 window-box, and shade them till they are up. 



You will find it a delightful and interesting pas- 

 time, raising your own plants either from cuttings or 

 seeds, and you will have a far greater interest in them, 

 knowing them thus from their very infancy, I ex- 

 plained in a former chapter how to treat your seiedlings 

 after they are up to ensure a good display. Your 

 cuttings, as soon as they are nicely rooted, should be 

 potted with good potting soil into five- or six-inch 

 pots, where they will grow very quickly into nice little 

 specimen plants. 



