26 



THE FLOWER GROWER'S GUIDE. 



they are rij^c enough to grow, scattering them very thinly in good, rich, well-tilled 

 ground. 



We must select the finest, i.e. the largest and heaviest seeds, which are generally 

 those that first rij^en on the plants. "VVe must save our seeds from our finest varieties 

 and best plants, and thin out the crop so that those ripened may be of the best quality. 



Do not sow seeds too deeply or too thickly. Over-crowding in the early stages is 

 worse than a waste of seed, for it ruins millions of plants yearly, as shown in Fig. 16 ; 

 they should appear thinly and grow sturdily from the first by the better method also 

 shown. A good start in life is as good for a seedling as it is for a child. 



Heat is of such importance, even to hardy seeds, that a word or two as to this may 

 be desirable. Under glass one may readily regulate the temperatures, but in the open 

 air wc can only modify cold by judicious shelter. Hardy ^ilants and their seeds require 

 a temperature of the soil of from 50^ to 05° in order to germinate, "We must never 



forget that young plants like 

 ,^ y*^^^^^o fiiiiii^ii^s require a tem- 



9&m^W.&^^^''^'' perature rather higher than 



that absolutely essential for 

 the life progress of adults. 

 Sub-tropical or green- house 

 plants require from 55° to 65°, 

 and tropical or stove plants from 65° to 90° of soil heat in order to germinate strongly 

 and well. Some tree and shrub seeds lie dormant one year in the ground, and such 

 are often buried or stratified" in trenches or heaps a year before they are sown in the 

 usual way. 



rig. 16. Eaising Seedlings (Bad and Good Sowjng). 



Plant Breeding and Vaeiation. 



The first step in plant amelioration or improvements is judicious selection. 

 Plant breeding is really and truly evolution as carried on in the garden by man. The 

 results obtained are wonderful, but these are but trifles as compared wdth the poten- 

 tialities that yet exist — the virgin fields as yet unworked in the plant world. The 

 tuberous -rooted begonias, the cannas, and the Persian cyclamen, are results obtained 

 within the past thirty or forty years, and if we compare drawings of the flowers every 

 ten years or so, since the improvements began, we get an object lesson that is both 

 suggestive and instructive. Here are engravings of the two first and most potent 



