Propagation 20 5 



As to rate of multiplication, see also under Rhizome, 

 page 119. 



SEED. — The varieties of the germanica group sel- 

 dom produce seed, and most of the varieties of the 

 other species — mainly by reason of the peculiar relative 

 positions of the anthers and stigmas, a matter more 

 fully referred to under Flower, page 142 — rarely pro- 

 duce seed unless pollinated by external agency, as 

 by bees (see page 143) or by hand. 



The seeds should be gathered as soon as ripe or 

 they may drop from the pod and become lost. They 

 are ripe when the pod yellows and begins to open at 

 the top, but they are ripe enough to- gather as soon 

 as they turn brownish — when the pod has faded to 

 a yellow-green and slightly shriveled. If ripe take 

 them from the pod and sow at once, in any good 

 garden soil that has been dug and raked fine, thinly 

 in drills three-quarters of an inch deep, firming the 

 soil — as by patting with a block or back of a spade 

 or with the hand. If not quite ripe put the pods in 

 the shade in a dry, airy, warm place for a few days, 

 and then shell and plant. 



If it is not convenient to sow the seeds as soon as 

 they are gathered or ripened, they may be put away 

 dry until later in the season. Some planters advise 

 keeping the seed stratified in moist sand until wanted 

 for sowing, but this seems to be hardly necessary. 



The seed is usually slow to germinate. Under 

 some conditions it will come up in three weeks, but it 

 will be more likely to lie in the ground until the next 

 spring, and a few seeds may not start for several years. 



