THE DISA GUANDIFLORA. 



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Sowing the Seed. 

 I do not think it a good plan to sow it on its own pot, as the 

 abundance of water which the Disas require would wash away 

 all the seed, which is only like so much snuff. My method is to 

 get an ordinary seed-pan, put in sufficient drainage to keep the 

 soil sweet, place some of the roughest peat on the crocks to keep 

 the drainage open, then fill in with more peat and lumps of 

 sandstone, imitating a miniature rockery, and give it a good 

 watering with hot water to kill any insects that may be lurking 

 in the soil. The seed should then be scattered evenly over the 

 surface, covering very slightly with a little sand and dusty peat ; 

 put through a very fine sieve, give it a gentle watering to settle 

 the seed, place a bell-glass over the pan, and put it in a tempera- 

 ture of about 55 deg. at night. The seed should be shaded at all 

 times when the sun is on the house, and the compost must be 

 kept fairly moist. The seedlings will begin to appear from two 

 to three months after sowing. They seem to germinate best near 

 to the lumps of sandstone. I have even seen them on the top 

 without a particle of soil near them. I have a nice potful of 

 seedlings, about three years old, some of them with four and five 

 leaves on each. I sowed another pan last year (1897), and about 

 eighty seedlings have already germinated. These will remain in 

 the seed-pan until they are two years old ; then they will be 

 pricked out round the sides of 5 -inch pots, using a rougher com- 

 post than was used in sowing the seed. My practice is to let 

 them grow in this way for a year ; then put them into thumb - 

 pots, plunging them in a large pan of cocoanut fibre or sphagnum, 

 so as to keep the roots cool and moist. When they have got well 

 rooted in the thumbs they may be transferred into a little larger 

 pot, and so on as they require it. They may show a spike of 

 bloom in the fifth or sixth year, according to the strength of the 

 growth. It seems a long time to wait, but nevertheless it is most 

 interesting to watch the tiny blade of grass (as it looks) when it 

 first appears until the flowering stage is reached, when there may 

 be one or two plants flower in the batch, which will repay the 

 cultivator for all the trouble and care bestowed on them. The 

 best varieties are easily detected by being of a deep red colour 

 near the base of the annual growth. The majority of them are 

 of lighter colour, and the flowers from these will be a little 

 washy in colour and not so refined. In purchasing established 



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