62 



CHAPTER XY. 



SOWING THE SEED AND . MANAGEMENT OF 

 SEEDLINGS. 



Perhaps in no department of floriculture have we heard of 

 so many failures and so manj" complaints as in the seed 

 business, and we are not surprised at this. There are two 

 great causes for these failures : Ignorance on the part of the 

 cultivator, and (we don't like to use the word, but suppose we 

 must,) dishonesty on the part of the seedsmen. Now to ex- 

 plain : Seeds are in many respects peculiar; there is as great 

 a difference in them as there is in the members of the human 

 family. So in order that we may grow them successfully we 

 must understand at least the most prominent traits in their 

 character. The catalogue of almost every seedsman in the 

 country will give you this information : It will tell you the 

 nature, habit, growth, etc. ; with this information, together 

 with what general remarks we may make, may give some 

 light on the subject that we hope may prove beneficial. Look- 

 ing at the subject in this waj^, it is not surp^-ising to us to hear 

 that a person who sowed Begonia, Calceolaria or Gloxinia 

 seeds in the open border in May, had utterly failed; indeed it 

 would be more surprising to hear that he had succeeded. Yet 

 the seed may have been as good as ever had been sown, and 

 would undoabtedly have germinated under favorable circum- 

 stances, but through /6^?io?-ance on the part' of the cultivator, 

 the good seeds did not give satisfaction. 



During the past few years, owing to an endeavor to increase 

 their business and to make more money, many old seeds that 

 have lost their vitality have been sold, and to defeat the ends 

 of justice, some seedsmen have placed a disclaimer on their 

 seed bags or packets to the etTect that it was mutually agreed 

 that the seller was not to be held responsible for any damage 

 that might occur by the failure of the seeds to grow. This is a 

 declaration that the seller ^-as in doubt about the article, and 

 for this reason dare not warrant them, and if you buy them, 

 you buy them at your own risk. What would you think of 

 your clothier or shoe dealer who would make you such an 

 answer. Many seeds are now sent to every village and hamlet 



