February, 1914 THE ClARDEN AND FIELD. 



Seed Sowing &nd Repotting. 



A lul oi seeil sowing is being 

 done. Much of the work is done 

 in frames, shallow boxes or seed 

 pans. luther plan will do, pro- 

 videcl you sludy tlie nature o|t your 

 seed. II it is very line, after the 

 style of petvinia, primula, {jlo.xinia, 

 or bejjonia, you must do all the 

 \vork under glass, as it is neces- 

 sary' to afiorci some shelter to all 

 the softer kind of seedlings. In- 

 deed, any of the seedlings are soft 

 enough for the first few days of 

 their life. They all rejtjiuire careful 

 handling. Too much care cannot 

 be given. Shade and water are 

 two of the essentials. Friable and 

 not over rich soil is another ne- 

 cessity. But let us get a good 

 beginning. 



You are about to sow stock 

 seed. Kveryone should be doing 

 this during February at the very 

 latest. Buy the best seed you 

 can afford, and sow it on these 

 lines : — Take a third each of sweet 

 loam, leaf mould and sand, and 

 old rotted cow manure. Sieve the 

 lot. Jloisten the soil just enough 

 to hold it together when you 

 squeeze a handful. Don't make it 

 wet. 



Get a shallow box, one 20 inches 

 long, 12 inches broad, by 4 deep, 

 will do nicely. Leave the bottom 

 boards a little apart, to let any 

 surplus water soak away. Put an 

 inch of old manure in the bottom, 

 and then two inches of soil on top 

 of that. Pat the surface flat with 

 a piece of board, and sprinkle it 

 with a fine rose watering can. 

 Now scatter the seed, or if the 

 seeds are larger, put them out in 

 rows. A very thin covering of 

 the same soil, and then a scatter- 

 ing of very finely sieved manure, 

 after which place a sheet of glass 

 over the box, and keep it out of 

 the full sunlight in a bush house 

 or shelter. With a frame or glass 

 house you work in practically the 

 same way. Be very careful over 

 the seeds for the first week or two. 

 Keep the box moist, and avoid 

 splashing the surface. Water very 

 gently, allowing the box to soak 

 its full out of a tub with two 

 inches of water in the bottom, is 

 the best plan, as you then give the 

 whole soil a watering. Remove the 

 glass as the plants grow, and see 

 that they get enough light and air. 



Hardy seeds of the l»gger things 

 you can put out in the open, in 

 rows in a soil half manure ; the 

 rest nearly all sand. 



When the young plants have 

 their second .set of leaves, ox 

 one in. high, " prick " them' out 

 (transplant) them into other S(imi- 

 lar boxes, but give thiSm plenty of 

 elbow room. One or two inches 

 apart, according to the siz« and 

 \ariicty of the seedlings, is sufii- 

 cient. 



In potting oil — much the same 

 as " pricking " out. The left hand 

 holds the seedling, and the right 

 finger makes the hole. The little 

 plant is put in firmly, pressed, and 

 then watered. Things that hav'e 

 just undergone this process had 

 better be put into a frame, or 

 glass house, until they show signs 

 of new growth, after which they 

 may be hardened ofi. 



Remember that all seedlings re- 

 quire attention and feeding. Never 

 let them get too dry. You will 

 kill the young plants if you don't 

 look after them. Water oiten, 

 and give a weak liquid manuring 

 now and again to freshen them up. 

 Avoid drawing the plants up too 

 high. Make them short and 

 stump }-, and whenever yon are 

 about to shift a seedling, lift it 

 with a clump of the earth round its', 

 roots. Let the roots fall into a 

 hole big enough to take them with- 

 out crowding. So much for the 

 seed-sowing. 



In re-potting a plant let the 

 stalk come between the second 

 and third finger of yonr lelt hand. 

 You hold the ball and plant as 

 well in this way. Tap the rim 

 of the pot, and the plant will come( 

 out root and all. 



See that the roots are well 

 through the ball of soil. If they 

 are not it is too early to make 

 the shift. \'ou should always re- 

 member to clean all pots first. 

 Dirty ones give trouble. Put a 

 piece of crock over the hole, some 

 cinders over that, and then a 

 little manure to complete the 

 drainage material. No water 

 should be allowed to rdmain in the 

 pots. Don't jump from a small 

 size to a large one. Go a step, 

 or size at a time. Much better 

 this than run from a 4 to an 8 

 inch all at once. 



When the ball and plant are out 

 of one pot, set about getting them 

 into another. Set the drainage 

 stuff, place some earth over that, 

 and then see how the plant will 

 sit on the soil. If it is too high 

 take some of the compost out 

 again. Take the old drainage stuff 

 from among the roots before mak- 

 ing the shift. 



«9I 



Fill the earth in,, and sec that 

 sulli(.aent room is left Ijetween the 

 lop of the soil and the rim of the 

 l)ot to allow you water the 

 l)lanL It does not matter whe- 

 ther you are potting seedlings, 

 ferns, or palnvs, room must be Ic^t 

 for the water. 



TIk' ramming of the soil is done 

 with a piece of batten. To leave 

 air spaces and holes is bad. Press 

 the earth solid. If it is of the 

 right texture no harm will come 

 to the plant. All this work can 

 very well be done on a rainy or a 

 hot da}'. Potting work is usually 

 done under cover. 



Fuichsias, coleus, cinerarias, and 

 many other such things are often 

 grown in pots, and to know just 

 how to handle them is to make a 

 success where otherwise you might 

 fail. One, thought, in closing : 

 Don't keep any plant so long in 

 the one pot as to force it to fill 

 the whole area with a mass of 

 rootsf x\nd when you shift any- 

 thing that carries a ball of roots, 

 comb the sides of the ball lightly 

 to break some of the mass before 

 re-potting. 



Palms like a fairly heavy soil 

 with no leaf mould. Two^hirds 

 loam and the rest sand and old 

 manure will do. 



♦ ■ 



Cochineal is obtained from a 

 parasitic insect known as coccus 

 cacti, which infests • one of the 

 ordinary prickly pears that flour- 

 ish on the Mediterranean- coast. 



" If you get a new idea, don't 

 I)uild a barbed-wire fence around it 

 and label it as yours. By giving 

 your best thoughts freely, others 

 will come to you so freely that 

 you will soon never think "of fenc- 

 ing them in. Thoughts refusie to 

 climb barbed-wire fences to reach 

 anvbodv." 



CARNATIONS. 



LANE'S NOVELTIES-STRONG 

 PLANTS NOW READY. 

 INSPECTION INVITED. 



Cut Flowers of all kinds aJways on 

 hand and cut to Order. 



J. O. LANE, 



NURSERYMAN, WALKER VILLE 



