944 



THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



Softening. — One great advantage of the softening process is 

 to help the germination of a quantity of seeds which would 

 otherwise require a considerable amount of time before showing 

 any sign of life, during which time they might be destroyed by 

 insect pests. Take for instance Palm seeds — these afford a 

 very good example of the utility of softening, especially Cocos, 

 Euterpe, Geonoma, and Latania — which are actually grown 

 in very large quantities, and which would in some cases require 

 a couple of years or more to germinate. 



The following is the commonest method of softening, and one 

 which is often resorted to in nurseries. Seeds on their arrival 

 are deposited in large pans without soil of any kind, placed on 

 the hot-water pipes of a warm house, and kept in a state of 

 permanent saturation. Under these conditions, if the seeds are 

 in perfect order, they soon give signs of germinating ; indeed, 

 a fortnight is sometimes sufficient time for several of them to 

 show their embryos. All germinated seeds are carefully removed 

 so as not to injure any of them, and then planted in pans or 

 boxes in a very light soil, and kept in a warm house with a 

 certain amount of bottom - heat to encourage growth. The 

 remaining seeds are looked over nearly every day, and all 

 those germinating removed, as without this precaution the 

 embryo might easily be broken. 



In the case of old seeds, the germinative properties of which 

 are doubtful, they may be placed for several hours in slightly 

 warmed water, with a handful of salt to each gallon ; this helps 

 the tissue to swell, and so aids germination. The thicker the 

 shell the longer they may remain in water. Proofs of this may 

 easily be obtained with Cabbages, Peas, Beans, &c., which have 

 a very thin shell, and for which twelve hours are sufficient : but 

 hard seeds require twenty to forty hours or more. This method 

 is especially advantageous if the seeds have to be sown on dry 

 ground. 



Filing Off. — This method is mostly applied to seeds which 

 possess a very hard shell, and it must be done very carefully, filing 

 that part of the seed in which the embryo is showing. They 

 should then be placed on bottom-heat with moisture, when they 

 w'ill germinate much quicker, as is the case with Nelumbiums 

 and some Palms. 



Sowing. — Another very important point is the depth at which 

 seeds should be sown. Taking the w^hole range from the 

 enormous Cocoanut to the imperceptible seeds of Orchids, we 

 may say generally that they must be sown at a depth equal to 

 their size : for instance, Cocoanut seeds, with a diameter of yin., 

 must be covered with about 7 in. of material, while the dust-like 

 Orchid seeds should be placed on the top of the compost. Very 

 fine seeds, such as those of Begonia, may be mixed with 



