Arthur T. Boddincfton^ ?42 West 14th St.. New York City 



Oilia coronopitoUa 



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 vigorous plants are produced. 



To obtain good results, a certain amount of care in the sowing and treat- 

 ment must be taken ; this may be summed up in tlie 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 Ihe 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 potsherds 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 somewhat 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 w liich, in the first place, is to keep the seeds sufirtciently moist for ger- 

 mination ; secondly, and only in those cases in which the seedlings will con- 

 tinue 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, where 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 evaporation 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 way to moisten the seed-pans containing the fine seeds is by dip- 

 ping 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 ju=;t be kept moist — they should never be allowed to 

 become sodden. A safe guide for temperature is that for proper germination 

 the temperature should ba a little higher than the mature plant requires for 

 proper development. 



The seeds of most Hardy Perennials may be sown at any time from Janu- 

 ary 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 treat- 

 ment 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 as alyssum, 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 condition as to moisture, etc. It is very poor prac- 

 tice to sow when 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 gov- 

 erned by the variety 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 w inds or hot 

 spring weather may easily cause a temporary or fatal stoppage of growth. 

 These evils must be overcome by covering the seeds with sufficient soil to pre- 

 vent their drying out, yet they must not be sown so deep as to cut ofl the sup- 

 ply 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 branches or cheesecloth. 



