DIRECTIONS FOR SOWING AND RAISING 
AUSTRALIAN SEEDS 
It is generally known that seasons vary in a remarkable degree 
throughout Australia. Spring, for instance, may one year set in a 
month earlier, or later, than in another year in any of the States, and 
Winter may be delayed long beyond the usual time. 
Some maintain that Australian seeds may be sown with good 
results at any time of year! A safe plan to adopt in all the States is 
to avoid sowing in Summer or Winter. 
In Victoria, the month of September is usually chosen, for the 
reason that by the time the warmer weather sets in, the young seedlings 
will probably have gained firm root hold. If seeds be sown so soon 
as early in August, the young plants may receive a severe check from 
cold and wet changes of weather, or frosty nights, and, consequently, 
they are likely to damp off. If not sown till October, they may be 
checked by hot weather, or by drying winds, ere they have become 
sufficiently established, in which case, if they are not carefully attended 
to, they will shrivel up and die. August, September, or October, 
however, are the months that may be chosen, according to climate, for 
sowing seeds of Australian plants. 
Hard-cased seeds, belonging to the Leguminosae or pod-bearing 
family, such as the Acacias or Wattles, Cassias, Kennedyas, Harden- 
bergias, Pithecolobiums, Crotalarias, Goodias, etc., will germinate the 
more readily if placed, before being sown, in hot water and left to 
soak for five or six hours. Seeds of the smaller shrubs of the same 
family, such as Pultenaeas, Dillwynias, Chorizemas, Platylobiums, and 
scores of others, will not need scalding or soaking. 
Pots , Pans, or Boxes .—A six-inch pot is preferred by many gar¬ 
deners for seeds when the quantity to be sown is small, because the 
soil in it is not liable to dry as quickly as in one of less size; also, the 
rootlets of the seedlings have ample room to expand. 
The seed pots should be clean and thoroughly drained. One-third 
of their depth must be occupied with the drainage material. Care 
should be taken to place a piece of pot-sherd, concave or inverted side 
* Mr. J. H. Maiden, Government Botanist of New South Wales, and Director of the 
Sydney Botanic Gardens, in a work he is publishing in monthly parts on the Euealypts of 
Australia, is subjecting the classification and botanical nomenclature to much-needed revision. 
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