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Extract from " Practical Floriculture." 



fHE propagation of plants, of all kinds, by seeds, is a matter in wliich instructions can only to a certain 

 extent be given. Long experience only can give the necessary knowledge for the full understanding 

 of the proper temperature and humidity essential for the successful germination of the different 

 varieties. It may be laid down as a safe rule, however, that for the hardier varieties, a low or medium 

 temperature is required, say from 45° to G0°, and for the tender species, a temper'ature from 75° to 90°. 



If Pansy seed be sown in July or August, where the temperature in the shade averages 80°, no matter 

 how moist the soil is kept, if germination takes place at all it will be of so feeble a kind that the seedliugs will 

 not continue a healthy existence ; but if the same seed were sown in September or October, with an average 

 temperature of say 60" in the shade, a quick and healthy germination would be the result. The same rule 

 applies to Cinerarias, Calceolarias, Auriculas, Primulas, and all other plants of this half-hardy nature. 

 E-nglish, Scotch, and Irish gardeners, before they have had time for experience in this country, are apt to fall 

 into the common error of sowing all these seeds too soon. Though it is proper to sow these seeds in 

 July and August in England, with us, in this section, it must be delayed to September or October, and in 

 warm latitudes still later, or failure is almost certain to follow. On the other hand, if we attempt to germi- 

 nate Portulacas, Balsams, Amaranths, Zinnias, or other plants of tropical origin, in the medium temperature 

 of 50°, they will either remain dormant until a higher temperature occurs, or perish. Ignorance of, or inat- 

 tention to, these conditions, is far oftener the cause of failure than want of vitality in seeds. 



Whether seeds are sown in the open border, in the window garden of the parlor, in the hot-bed, or 

 green-house, the same conditions should be followed, as far as practicable. In the open border there is not 

 always a choice of soil, but if soil is to be prepared, let it be of a light nature ; leaf mould from the woods, and 

 well-pulverized muck from the swamps are excellent to sift on as a covering ; or, where it is obtainable, the 

 mould formed by decayed refuse hops is of great value as a covering for seeds. We have employed this 

 exclusively as a covering for seeds of all kinds for many years, with results which have been vastly superior 

 to those we had when we did not use it. 



It must be borne in mind that at first, seeds do not so much need a fertile soil as they do one having the 

 necessary mechanical condition; this is found exactly, in the light, moisture-retaining nature of hop-mould. 

 We can give no better rule than the old one of covering seeds to about their own depth with mould, although 

 something depends on the weight of the material with which they are covered. One-fourth of an inch in 

 depth of hop-mould or leaf-mould would be no more than equivalent to half that depth of ordinary loam ; 

 hence the advantage in using it, as it gives the seed a moist, springy covering, through which the tiny germ 

 can freely push. 



We know it is a practice very common with amateurs, and many gardeners, when starting seeds in hot- 

 bed or green-house, to use flower-pots in their operations; they are generally two-thirds filled with potsherds, 

 overlaying which is an inch or two of soil, and on this the seed is sown. Any continuation of dry weather 

 necessitates almost daily watering of the flower-pots; this bakes or hardens the surface, while a day's 

 inattention to them dries the soil, while it is in this condition, so as to injure the vitality of the seeds ; hence 

 very unsatisfactory results follow this practice too often. 



For many years we have entirely discarded the- use of earthen flower-pots or pans for the purpose of 

 sowing seeds, and use shallow boxes instead. These we prepare by cutting the common-sized soap-box in 

 three pieces, each one of a depth of about two inches. These boxes are filled with the prepared soil to the 

 depth of 1% inch, which is gently and evenly pressed, so as to give an entirely level surface; the seeds are 

 then sown, and a light covering, from iV to }i part of an inch thick, according to size or strength of seed, 

 is sifted over them, through a sieve having a mesh only iV part of an inch in diameter. The covering is 

 gently pressed, to prevent the air penetrating the loose soil and drying up the seeds; watering, which it is 

 well to avoid as much as possible, is thus rendered less necessary. Be careful, however, not to let them suffer 

 for moisture, as in the weak condition of seedlings, most plants are quickly injured by neglect of this kind, 

 and, even with all possible care, we experience serious losses. Many varieties will " damp off," as we term it, 

 just as the first rough leaves are being formed; this, however, is not the result of excessive moisture, as it 

 occurs just as quickly in a dry temperature as a moist one. It is evidently caused by the same insidious 

 spider-web-like substance that is known among gardeners as the "fungus of the cutting bench," and is 

 evidently one of the minute fungi of which we have so many representatives. The best preventive of this 

 disease, as it is sometimes called, is, just as soon as the seedling plants can be handled, to take them from 

 the seed-boxes, and prick them out in boxes of similar mould, from % to 2 inches apart, according to the 

 variety. This is a much better method than potting them off in flower-pots, as it not only saves time and 

 room, but they always do better. In the flower-pots they are liable to be dried up, and the tender roots of the 

 seedling plant thereby quickly destroyed. 



