224 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



that the number of the seeds which germinate 

 bears to the number sown, will afford the most 

 positive proof of the quality of seed. A quick 

 mode of accelerating the vegetation of the seeds, 

 for the purpose of trial, is to sow in a pot, cover 

 them with nearly \ inch of soil, and plunge the 

 pot in hot stable-dung. The covering of soil is 

 made thicker than necessary for the seed when 

 sown for a crop, in order to protect it from the 

 direct action of the steam from the dung. 



2. Preserving Seeds. — Seeds may be perfect, 

 but if badly stored their germinating powers 

 may become impaired or totally destroyed before 

 the period at which they can be sown arrives. 

 Canvas bags, of greater or less thickness and 

 fineness, are found to keep large seeds exceed- 

 ingly well; as all the Brassica tribe, Peas, 

 Beans, and, in short, most kitchen-garden seeds. 

 For all small seeds, however, paper is preferable, 

 as it is closer in texture and does not so readily 

 permit the essential qualities of the seeds to 

 escape by exhalation. Nymphyea seeds should 

 be stored in paper envelopes. Those of the 

 Victoria regia must be kept in water. 



The place in which seeds are kejit should be 

 so situated and arranged as to be as little as 

 possible affected by changes of temperature. A 

 cool temperature is best for not exciting the 

 vegetative principle in seeds from plants of tem- 

 perate climates, and consequently the best for 

 their preservation ; yet it should never fall below 

 freezing— in fact near, but not lower than, 40° is 

 probably the minimum which is most desirable. 

 It should be possible to exclude the air when 

 too cold; and if the internal air be too damp, 

 the first opportunity should be taken to induce 

 a free circulation of air when it is in a dry state. 

 The floor of the seed-room should be boarded 

 and dry; or, if of large dimensions, Portland 

 cement may be employed. 



Seeds generally may be kept in a wooden 

 box in an ordinary dwelling-room, where they 

 will be preserved from mice and damp and 

 where the temperature is equable and moderate. 

 The practice, too common in small gardens, 

 of keeping the seeds in a box in a tool or 

 potting shed, is not to be commended. Some 

 tree seeds, such as Oaks and Chestnuts, soon 

 lose their vitality if kept dry. The best mode 

 of preserving them is to pack them in slightly 

 moist sand, or in tolerably dry loam, and keep 

 them in a cool place till spring; but when about 

 to be sown, care must be taken to cover them 

 immediately, so that they may not be exposed 

 to the effects of the sun's rays, or to drought. 

 Seeds of this description are sometimes packed 



in clay, cow-manure, or damp sphagnum moss. 

 The latter substance, growing abundantly in 

 many woods, doubtless forms a natural protec- 

 tion to seeds that drop amongst it, for it retains 

 a certain degree .of moisture without being 

 saturated, whilst it resists the vicissitudes of 

 heat and cold, and is not apt to go into a state 

 of fermentation. Acorns can be sent long dis- 

 tances if packed in moist soil or cocoa-nut fibre, 

 or even in a cask with water. Large quantities 

 have thus been sent from Kew to different parts 

 of Africa, Ceylon, New Zealand, &c. Seeds of 

 the Brazil-nut purchased in Covent Garden 

 market were successfully sent to Brisbane in the 

 same way. With the exception of the compara- 

 tively few kinds of seeds which soon lose their 

 vitality if exposed to the air, all seeds travel 

 best when packed in canvas bags or wooden 

 boxes and sent dry. Hermetically-sealed tins 

 and bottles are not to be recommended. In the 

 latter case, the air in the jar or bottle becomes 

 more or less saturated with the moisture they 

 contain. The consequence is, that the seeds are 

 then in an impure, damp, close atmosphere, and 

 in most cases become completely spoiled. 



3. Time of Sowing. — The most favourable time 

 for sowing all seeds indigenous to any country 

 is when they naturally drop from the plants. 

 This rule, however, is not of general application 

 as regards seeds of plants that are natives of a 

 country having a very different climate from 

 that of any other part of the world where they 

 are to be sown. Favoured by mild weather, 

 seeds of exotics may vegetate in autumn, and 

 grow slowly yet safely through the winter; but 

 in many cases the same kinds of plants, if raised 

 in autumn in a climate like that of Britain, 

 would perish during the winter; whereas, if 

 the seeds are properly stored, and not sown 

 till spring, the young plants will thrive as the 

 weather becomes more favourable. 



The time when seeds are self -sow. i\ nature 

 is doubtless the most proper for propagrting 

 the species with the greatest certainty in the 

 absence of cultivation, and if no other object 

 were in view, the cultivator might closely 

 imitate nature as to the period of sowing, but 

 he has other motives which render K often 

 necessary to deviate from the natural mode. 

 He has to cultivate the plant, not solely for 

 reproduction, but also for its use or for orna- 

 ment; and in either case he has to afford a 

 supply to suit the demand, sometimes through- 

 out the year, often for a considerable portion of 

 it. These remarks chiefly apply to such plants 

 as are of an herbaceous nature, and more espe- 



