154 
Sowing Seeds. 
Raising plant from seeds is interesting and in the majority of 
cases by no means difficult. Owing to the uncertainty of heavy 
rainfall at almost any time of the year it is advisable to raise alii 
seeds of a delicate nature under some sort of covering, as a single 
heavy shower will often destroy them. Shallow boxes, pots o t 
pans may be used for this purpose, but whichever is used pro- 
per provision should be made for drainage as already directed foi 
potting plant. 
For sowing seed the “stock* * soil may be used, but it must be 
passed through a quarter-inch sieve, and a small portion for cover 
ing the seeds through a still finer sieve. Add more leaf -mould 
and a liberal pioportion of sand to prevent the soil binding. 
Directly on top of the drainage place an inch or more, according 
to the depth of the pots or boxes being used, of the refuse obtained 
in passing the soil through the sieve and on the top of this the 
finer soil until the box or pot is full to within a quarter of an inch 
of the top. Make the surface as smooth as possible, water gently 
but liberally with a fine rose pot and let it stand for an hour c 
two before sowing the seeds. By watering thoroughly befor 
sowing the necessity of pouring much water on the seeds imme 
diately after planting is prevented. The ordinary watering-ca 
with a tin rose is ill adapted for seeds and a small one with a fin 
brass rose should be kept for this purpose. In sowing the seeds 
spread them evenly over the surface and cover with the finest 
soil mixed with one-fifth its bulk of sand. 
As to the depth of covering to be placed on the top of the seeds 
that depends on the kind sown, hut it may be taken as a sa r e 
rule that a covering equal to the diameter of the seed is sufficient. 
It will be seen from this that in the case of minute seeds, such r s 
Begonias, Gloxinias, &c., the covering must be extremely ligl ; 
and in such cases a mere sprinkling of the finest sand is also suffi- 
cient. With such fine seeds it is advisable to place a piece of 
glass over the pot to prevent the soil drying too rapidly, and 
instead of watering to stand the pot in a bucket of water for 
a few minutes if necessary. The water in the bucket must not 
be sufficient to slip over the top of the pot. The period required 
for seeds to germinate varies considerably. Some annuals 
germinate in two or three days, while one of our local palms the 
“ Bertam ” takes a year, and there are seeds which take mueh 
longer than that, but these are extreme cases. 
After sowing, w-ater carefully with a fine rose watering-can and 
place in a cool place protected from the rain, but as soon as t he 
plants appear above ground, remove them to a more open spot, 
continuing to protect from heavy rainfall until they have acquir- 
ed strength to stand it. One of the commonest things that hap- 
pens to seedlings, especially things that germinate quickly, is 
what is termed “ damping,” that is, the young plants die off 
close to the ground and if not attended to immediately the 
whole lot is often lost. This is generally caused by over-watering. 
