64 ALPINE FLOWERS. Part I. 



the plants will be quite at home where first sown till the time 

 arrives for planting them out finally. 



I am convinced that in finely pulverised earth, with, if con- 

 venient, an inch or so of cocoa fibre and sand between the drills 

 to prevent the ground getting hard and dry, much better results 

 will be obtained than by sowing in pots. In the open air they 

 come up much more vigorously, and never suffer from trans- 

 plantation or change of temperature afterwards. Nevertheless, 

 as few will venture the very finest and rarest kinds of seed in 

 the open air, how to treat them in frames is of some importance, 

 and the following observations on this matter are by Mr. Niven, 

 of the Hull Botanic Garden, one of the most successful culti- 

 vators of alpine plants, who possesses, chiefly in pots, one of 

 the most complete collections ever made. They were communi- 

 cated to the ' Gardener's Chronicle.' 



" Much disappointment is often experienced in raising the 

 seeds of perennial plants, and blame is attributed to the vendor 

 of the seeds, that ought in reality to be awarded nearer home. 

 Presuming that the selection of the seeds is made, and that 

 the seeds themselves are in the hands of the purchaser, the 

 operation of sowing should take place as early as may be prac- 

 ticable in March. First of all, the requisite number of five- or 

 six-inch pots should be obtained, so that each seed packet can 

 have a separate pot for itself. Some nice light soil, with a fair 

 amount of sand and leaf-mould therein (if obtainable), should be 

 prepared, and passed through a coarse sieve, keeping a sharp eye 

 after worms, and at once removing them ; the rough part which 

 remains in the sieve should be placed above the drainage in the 

 bottom of the pots to the extent of two-thirds of the depth, filling 

 the remaining third with the fine soil ; the whole should then be 

 well pressed down, so that the surface for the reception of the 

 .seeds should be half an inch below the brim of the pot, and 

 tolerably even. Each packet of seed should then be sown, and 

 covered with a sprinkUng of fine soil, which is to be pressed 

 down by means of a flat piece of wood, or, what vsfill be perhaps 

 more readily available, by the bottom of a flower-pot. 



" The best guide as to the thickness of covering required is to 

 arrange so that no seeds shall be seen on the surface after the 

 operation. If the seeds are minute, a very small quantity will 

 be required to attain this end ; if they are large, more will be 

 requisite. This completed, and each pot duly labelled with the 



