SEED-RAISING CASES 75 
staging where there is a slight warmth from the hot-water 
pipes. The staging has a few inches of cocoa-nut fibre, 
or chopped Osmunda fibre, fine ballast, or other moisture- 
holding substance, and on this a number of inverted flower- 
pots are closely arranged to form stands for the pots or 
pans in which the material for sowing the seeds on is 
placed : or a light, open wood-work staging is arranged. 
The favourite surface for sowing the seeds on is prepared 
by stretching a small square of coarse calico or fine light 
muslin shading material over a ball of Sphagnum-moss, 
and pressing it into a 60 or small 48 size flower-pot, so 
that the unwrinkled convex surface of the ball has the 
centre just below the level of the rim of the pots, the sides 
being lower. These are thoroughly soaked and allowed to 
drain before sowing the seeds on them, and they are then 
placed on the inverted pots in the case. The covering of 
the case is sometimes of the nature of hinged sashes to lift 
from the front, but the most convenient and best covering 
is that formed of sheets or panes of glass cut about one foot 
wide and of a length sufficient to cover the frame, by resting 
one end on a groove in the front side of the case, and the 
other on the top bar. A sufficient number of these sheets 
of glass should be provided to cover the frame; they 
are excellent, as they give a certain means of continual 
ventilation in some degree through the laps of the glass, 
even when closed, and they may be closely or openly 
arranged to regulate the amount of air admitted. Such 
pieces of glass can easily be removed to inspect the 
seedlings. 
What is commonly called “coddling” causes great 
mortality among Orchids, and in this particular the use of 
