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Arthur T.Boddington, 342 West 14th St.. New York City 



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The Sowing of Flower Seeds 



By W. H. WAITE 



The raising of plants from seed is the most natural mode of reproduction, it is from 

 the seed that the most healthy and v igorous plants are produced. 



To obtain good results, a certain amount of care in the sowing and treatment must 

 betaken; this may be summed up in the following four points. 

 First. — That the seeds have been perfectly ripened. 

 Second.— That they have been properly kept till the period of sowing. 

 Third.— That they be sown at the proper time. 

 Fourth. — That the sowing be performed in the proper manner. 

 Many of the flower seeds used in the garden are started in the greenhouse or 

 sunny window during the early spring months. 



Seed-pans or shallow flats, should be used. These receptacles should have plenty 

 of drainage, consisting of pot sherds or any rough open material. The soil should be 

 an even mixture of sand, leaf soil and loam, finely sifted; before sowing this should be 

 firmly and evenly pressed. If the soil is dry, it should be watered and rendered some- 

 what moist a few hours before sowing. 



The main consideration which will enable any one to determine the depth at 

 which the seeds should be sown must always be this, — that the soil is the medium 

 which in the first place is to keep the seeds sufficiently moist for germination; secondly, 

 and only in those cases in which the seedlings will continue their development on 

 the spot where they have germinated, the soil must be looked upon as essential for the 

 fixing of the plant. In practice, w here the seedlings are transplanted when very young 

 the covering of the seeds with soil is not essential if we only keep the seed-pans 

 covered with a piece of glass, or even paper, in order to prevent a too rapid evapora- 

 tion of the moisture. 



In the sowing of very small seeds, e. g., calceolarias, gloxinias, begonias, etc., no 

 covering of soil should be put on the seeds at all. Larger seeds such as salvia, cyclamen, 

 etc., may be covered with fine soil to a depth of twice the diameter of the seeds. 



After sowing great care must be taken that the seed-beds should never be allowed 

 to become dry, and very great care must be taken in the watering, especially of the 

 finer seeds. 



The best v\ ay to moisten the seed-pans containing the fine seeds is by dipping the 

 pans in a pail of water, and allow the water to rise naturally. 



The three main essentials which all plant life requires, and this relates to seedlings 

 as well as mature plants, are moisture, heat and air. 



The seed-beds should just be kept moist — they should never be allowed to become 

 sodden. A safe guide for temperature is that for proper germination the tempera- 

 ture should be a little higher than the mature plant requires for proper development. 



The seeds of most Hardy Perennials may be sown at any time from January to 

 October. Early sowing should be made indoors in boxes in the same manner as 

 described above, or they may be sown out-of-doors in spring after the frost has gone 

 and transplanted into their flowering position in early autumn or the following spring. 



There is not room in this short article for the treatment of the young seedlings, but 

 as the seedlings appear, more air and light should be gradually given or the seedlings 

 will be weak and drawn. 



There are many seeds of flowers which may be sown out in the open ground, such 

 asalyssum, candytuft, calliopsis, nasturtium, sweet peas, etc. These should be sown 

 after all danger of frost is past, and care should be taken that the .soil is in the right con- 

 dition as to moisture, etc. It is very poor practice to sow w hen the ground is too wet. 



The soil should be finely prepared by forking over and raking the surface evenly. 

 The seeds should be sown in drills, the depth of the drills to be governed by the vari- 

 ety of seed to be sown. It is different in the case of sowing seeds in the open than in 

 sowing under glass, as outside, the dry winds or hot spring w eatlier may easily cause 

 a temporary or fatal stoppage of growth. These evils must be overcome by covering 

 the seeds with suflicient .soil to prevent their drying out, yet they must not be sown so 

 deep as to cut off the supply of air. A good rule to follow as to the depth that seeds 

 sown outdoors should be, is to cover with a layer equal to four times their diameter. In the case of small seeds, a light shading 

 .should be given with blanches or cheesecloth. 



Anaual Lupine, Boddington's Snow Queen 



