Juty, 1903-] THE ORCHID REVIEW. 217 
it is useless to sow empty chaff, it would be a great pity to throw away the 
few good seeds a capsule may contain for want of sufficient care. 
The next process is the sowing of the seed, and in the great majority 
of cases it is best to sow it at once. But some capsules ripen during the 
late autumn or winter, and then it has been found advisable to keep the 
seeds in paper, i a fairly dry place, until the days begin to lengthen, so 
that when the seeds do begin to germinate they may be able to progress 
uninterruptedly until they get strong enough to go through the winter safely. 
The old custom generally was to sow the seeds on the compost of some 
growing plant, which required the same treatment and could be left 
undistubed for some considerable time. In some cases also they were 
sown on the pots containing young seedling plants, because the conditions 
were equally favourable to both. Again, pots of new compost were some- 
times made up, on which seeds were sown, and then placed in the house to 
receive the proper treatment. In the case of Cypripedes, Cymbidiums, and 
Some other terrestrial Orchids, this is still the best and most successful 
method, but for Cattleyas and some other epiphytal Orchids it has been 
superseded by an improved process. Blocks of soft wood (both pine and 
willow have been recommended) are cut across the grain with a rough saw 
into thin blocks, which are placed on a layer of crocks in a smallish pot, 
and the seeds are sown on the rough surface of the wood. A piece of glass, 
supported by the rim of the pot, is placed above the block, and the seeds 
are kept constantly moist by the use of a sprayer as often as necessary. 
Their progress can thus be watched, for there is no compost for them to 
sink down into and get lost sight of. 
Another method is to pack some living sphagnum moss in a pot and 
over this stretch a piece of moderately fine canvass, on which the seeds are 
sown, and kept moist by spraying. Here, too, the progress of the seedlings 
can be watched from the moment the seeds are sown. When once this is 
done they must never be allowed to get dry for a moment, as they are 
quickly injured when once germination has commenced. Care should be 
taken not to wash the seeds off in spraying, and they should never be dipped 
overhead, though the base of the pots may be dipped for a few moments 
without injury. Of course they must be put in a suitable temperature, and 
shaded from direct sunshine, though a sufficiency of light is requisite, and a 
position not too far from the glass should be chosen. 
The first sign of germination is that the seeds begin to swell and turn 
green, then they gradually lose the seed-coat, and become more globular, 
and at length a minute growing point appears, with root hairs, and then 
the roots proper. Butthe pricking off stage has now arrived, and this will 
be dealt with in our next paper. 
(To be continued.) 
