212 DIRECT sowrwa. 



favourable modification of the climate, &c. Then from among 

 these species only such can be selected as are likely to succeed 

 under the given conditions of soil, oliaiate and other surroundings. 

 Those whose seeds germinate with difficulty (i. e. take time or re- 

 quire specially favourable conditions), or go bad easily, or are 

 sought after by numerous and destructive enemies, must in any 

 case be avoided. 



The selection of the species to sow thus requires the most care- 

 ful and judicious consideration based on ripe experience and a 

 through grasp and appreciation of the prevailing conditions under 

 which the stocking operations are to be undertaken. The simplest 

 case occurs when the sowings are to be effected on land that is, or 

 has only recently been, under a crop composed, amongst others, of 

 one or valuable and suitable spontaneous species. Then the choice 

 admits of little or no hesitation, and each such species must be sown 

 in the soil and locality for which it is best suited. 



SECTION II. 



Season for sowing'. 



In the temperate and alpine regions of India, the Himalayas, if 

 we except the case of such seeds as ripen during the summer rains 

 and cannot be kept and must therefore be put into the ground at 

 once, autumn sowing will, as a rule, yield the best results. Where 

 snow lies, the seeds will remain protected under it, and as soon as 

 the latter has melted, they will, being already thoroughly soaked, 

 germinate during the first warm days of spring ; and where no 

 snow falls, or melts soon after it falls, the seeds will be completely 

 protected under the soil throughout the cold of winter, particularly 

 against mouldiness, fermentation and insects, and, as in the preced- 

 ing case, they will germinate early in spring. Thus, in either case, 

 the seedlings will have before them the remainder of spring, the 

 ■whole of summer and part of autumn in which to develop and 

 strengthen themselves against the next ensuing season of frosts. 

 Sometimes, however, in order to avoid spring frosts or the sudden 

 occurrence of cold and raw or hot and dry weather in May-June, it 

 may be advisable to sow in the rains. 



Elsewhere in India the best season for sowing is generally the- 

 commencement of the summer rains, where these are heavy enough, 

 because, in the first place, save during that season, there is never 

 any certainty of finding sufficient moisture in the soil, and, in the 

 second place, seedlings that come up later in the rains or at any 

 other time of the year would have little or no chance of surviving 



