490 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 5, 1890. 
SEED SOWING. 
(Continued from p. 474 .) 
Resuming the subject of seed sowing, I will give a few 
practical details for the sowing of flower seeds—tender, 
half hardy, and hardy ; and taking them in the order 
named, will begin with those seeds that require the aid 
of glass structures to bring them to perfection, 
enumerating a few of each by way of example. Many 
things are raised from seeds annually through sheer 
force of circumstances, some not having the means to 
winter various choice and delicate things, their accom¬ 
modation being meagre, and their chances of success 
nil. 
Raising Seeds Under Glass. 
In most gardens of ordinary pretensions there is a pro¬ 
pagating pit in which to raise all sorts of tenderlings, 
either from seeds or cuttings ; and where such a struc¬ 
ture exists it is comparatively easy to get up any 
quantity of plants requisite. At the same time there 
are a great many propagating pits only by name—not 
at all suitable for the purpose for which they are in¬ 
tended, being often too lofty and deficiently heated, 
and sometimes minus a proper bed in which to plunge 
pots, pans, &c. Seeds germinate all the better for 
being kept in an equable temperature, as also equable 
moisture ; therefore, in every case, the pots or what¬ 
ever they may be sown in should be plunged to the rim. 
Where these facilities do not exist, many make¬ 
shifts have to be resorted to, and in that way one is 
often tempted to repeat the adage, “Necessity is the 
mother of invention,” seeing that one must invent for 
the occasion as circumstances will admit. Where there 
is a Vinery or Peach house at work, facilities are at 
command which cannot be despised ; and when properly 
applied fairly good results will be produced. In such 
a case boxes placed over the evaporating pans on the 
hot-water pipes, and filled with coco-nut fibre or 
sphagnum in which to plunge the pots or pans 
containing the seeds, suit very well ; indeed, in many 
cases are preferable to the so-called propagating pit. 
In preparing soil for seed sowing, a good plan is to 
have all in readiness several days beforehand, and 
placed where the advantage of a little heat can be 
obtained to make all comfortable for the seeds. Pots, 
pans, &c., should be clean, and drainage secured by 
placing a few crocks over the bottom, covering the 
latter with the siftings of the soil to be used, or any 
roughish'material at command. Pill all to the desired 
level—moderately firm—and place about £ an inch of 
sifted soil’over all, afterwards watering all over from a 
fine rose watering pot, with tepid water. On this sow 
the seeds, and the covering where required is simply 
performed by dusting with the hand, or sifting the 
soil already prepared through a fine sieve. One of the 
delicate points is the sowing of seeds such as Gloxinia, 
Begonia, Lobelia, and all other snuff-like seeds. These 
require to be simply sown on a damp surface, as recom¬ 
mended above, without any covering of soil, and a 
square of glass placed over them, upon which should 
be shaken some sphagnum, or a piece of paper affixed. 
Sphagnum is best, as it is not so easily displaced, and 
may also be thinned off by degrees. A deal of mischief 
often occurs at this period, of all others the most 
critical stage in the management of seeds. If the 
shading is allowed to be too heavy after the seeds have 
fairly germinated, the consequences may be serious ; 
and, at best, will result in weakly, drawn plants. The 
glass, too, should be worked off by degrees, tilting it 
up a little on one side now and again in the middle of 
the day, and higher each time, until it can safely be 
dispensed with. 
Tender or Tropical Seeds. 
Beginning, then, with seed sowing, the first in order is 
the tender or tropical sorts. These all require the aid 
of glass structures and artificial heat to bring them to 
perfection. Cannas—of all seeds the hardest—require 
to be soaked in water for twenty-four hours before 
sowing. In the first instance they should be put in a 
vessel in water almost approaching boiling point, and 
the water changed several times, each time as hot as 
at first. These seeds require about \ in. of soil over 
them. 
Palms, Dracaenas, Aralias, Grevilleas, and seeds of 
that order, besides being immersed in hot water—not 
so hot, however, as recommended for Cannas —require a 
good heat to germinate them, and they also need 
covering. Cyclamen, although not requiring this 
treatment—indeed, they could not bear hot water—are 
none the worse for an immersion in tepid water a little 
before sowing. These also bear a good covering of soil. 
Primulas ought to be sown on a damp surface, and 
thinly covered. Balsams, Cockscombs, Celosias, and 
similar seeds should receive a like treatment as those of 
Primulas, with this exception, that they require more 
heat in their earlier stages of growth. Cinerarias and 
similar small seeds require covering thinly, and a very 
gentle heat will excite them into growth. Fern spores 
are best sown on a hard surface previously well damped, 
and a slight covering of sphagnum rubbed through the 
hands is better than soil. A square of glass placed 
over the pot or pan, covered with sphagnum, is quite 
the best plan to adopt with all small seeds. — J. Proctor, 
Glenfinart. 
( To he continued.) 
-- 
THE ENEMIES OF THE 
GARDENER : CORNS. 
A gardener, from the very nature of his occupation, 
being so much upon his feet, and in all weathers, 
working with his feet as well as his hands, is very 
subject to—and at times suffers severely from—Corns. 
I called upon one the other day -who was a perfect 
martyr to them, and it was painful to see him hobbling 
about the garden. Unfortunately this is by no means 
an isolated case, and with the hope of being able to 
afford some information that may bring an alleviation 
of pain to some affected brother in the craft, I trust 
you will give me space for the following remarks, 
having given some attention to the matter. 
Corns, like bunions, depend much upon unequal 
pressure on some part of the foot; generally upon the 
upper surface, of the smaller toes, but sometimes 
between them, and occasionally also upon the sole of 
the foot. But they differ from bunions in being formed 
only of an increased production of the scarf-skin or 
cuticle. Upon the pressed part the skin becomes tough 
to some extent, and presses upon the sensitive skin 
beneath, while the endeavour to relieve itself of the 
pressure produces an additional quantity of scarf-skin 
at the parts pressed, for the purpose of pushing it off. 
So long as the pressure remains, the formation of new 
scarf-skin continues, but to less extent, so that the 
corn now formed has a cone-like cap, the base for which 
is on the surface of the toe, and the point below 
pressing into the true skin. A more homely and not 
unfitting likeness may be found in a short clump-nail, 
the top of the nail answering to the surface of the corn, 
and the point for the point of the corn. Either of 
these comparisons readily explains why a corn is 
rendered more painful by a tight shoe ; for its top 
being pressed on, necessarily thrusts the point into the 
sensitive skin, and if the pressure be continued, it 
sometimes causes so much inflammation that an abscess 
forms at the root of the corn, as its descending part is 
called, which produces excessive suffering. 
It is of no use merely to cut away the hard skin 
that forms on the top of the corn, nor even to pick out 
the root with the finger-nail or with the point of a 
knife or scissors, if the person will be foolish enough 
to persist in squeezing his feet into shoes that are too 
tight and make undue pressure. His feet should 
therefore be well soaked in luke-warm water, which 
softens the corn, and then all the thick skin on the 
surface can be carefully picked off with the finger-nail 
or removed with a pen-knife, taking great care not to 
wound the sensitive skin beneath, as if this be made to 
bleed, it often inflames and the sensation is a painful 
one for a few days. The broad spreading top of the 
corn having now been removed, a thin, soft layer of 
scarf-skin only remains, except in the very centre, 
where a little white, hard, almost horny substance is 
found, which is the point or root of the corn, and if 
pressed down causes smart pain by driving against the 
sensitive skin beneath. Now, as much of this as possi¬ 
ble is to be dug out with the point of scissors or knife, 
so long as this can be done without giving pain and 
making the part bleed, for when the digging becomes 
painful it is a sure sign that the sensitive skin is close 
by. 
If the root of the corn be pretty well got out, a little 
conical cavity is left in which it had been lodged, and 
this is the part which has to be well protected against 
pressure, at least till the true skin below has ceased to 
be irritable. For this purpose it is necessary to have 
some thick buff leather spread on one side with soap 
plaster, rings of which can be cut out and laid one 
above the other, the first having a hole sufficiently 
large to give the corn a wide berth, as the sailors call 
it—that is plenty of room; and the hole of the suc¬ 
ceeding ring being less than the former, till the top¬ 
most has no hole in it. In this way of placing one 
plaster over the other, a conical cavity is also 
formed, so that the root of the corn is entirely freed 
from pressure aDd thus relieving the extreme pain. The 
person afflicted is often at once put in ease and comfort, 
and can walk miles, though previously he could scarcely 
hobble across the room. The number of layers of 
leather employed will depend on its thickness, but gen¬ 
erally three or four are sufficient. 
If inflammation has taken place at the root of the corn, 
and if the true skin has been wounded in attempting 
its removal and inflammation follows, then it will be 
necessary to soak the feet in warm water, put a poul¬ 
tice on the corn, and keep at rest with the feet on a 
sofa, otherwise the consequences may be serious. 
Corns now and then form on the palms of the hand, 
especially in persons unaccustomed to laborious 
occupations, who get their hands much rubbed, 
without being blistered, in rowing, handling a hammer, 
&c. This kind of com is rather unsightly than 
painful, and consists only in a wide-spread thickening 
of the scarf-skin, without any root. They are best left 
alone, and after the unwonted hand labour has been 
left off, they soon disappear of themselves. 
Sponging the feet over every night or morning in 
tepid or cold water will be found of great benefit. But 
to get completely rid of corns there is nothing like 
lying in bed for two or three months, as in the case of 
a severe illness. They will all come out of the feet, 
and leave the patient quite free from 'them. But no 
one, probably, would be willing to voluntarily undergo 
such a physical trial, even to get rid of their corns.— 
E. W. 
-- 
PLANT LIFE.* 
"We are very apt to go about our daily work in an 
easy, mechanical manner, knowing little or nothing of 
the reasons for what we do. We sow the seed, and, as 
a matter of course, look for the harvest, but as to the 
why and the wherefore of details connected with the 
sowing and tending of that plant when it has developed 
we may be totally ignorant, and here at what a disad¬ 
vantage we work ! What a wonderful system of laws 
is hidden from our view, and how dull and uninteresting 
is our work compared with that of those who are 
acquainted with the provisions of Nature towards the 
perfecting of her works ! 
Let us therefore for a few minutes look at some of the 
conditions connected with the life of a plant, taking 
a passing glance at the seed and the process of germi¬ 
nation, or the act by which the embryo is caused to 
develop into a perfect plant capable of supporting itself. 
The time required for the germination of seeds varies, 
but, as a rule, they germinate most rapidly directly 
after being gathered ; in fact, if preserved until quite 
dry the process is sometimes delayed for weeks, while 
in some it is destroyed altogether. There are seeds, 
however, which retain then- germinating powers for 
several years, especially those of the family Legumin- 
osie. Kidney Beans have germinated after having been 
kept sixty years. The conditions essential for germin¬ 
ation are a certain amount of heat, moisture, and a 
supply of air. Moisture is necessary to penetrate the 
substance of the seed, soften its envelopes, and to cause 
the embryos to swell, and to convey solid substances in 
solution, which are required by the young plant. The 
quantity of water, however, must not be too great, or 
their germinative faculty will be destroyed, and their 
development stopped. A moderate heat is necessary 
to promote the evolution of the different parts of the 
embryo and air is essential for respiration to bring 
about certain changes by which the young embryo may 
be nourished. The necessity for a proper supply of air 
is proved by sowing seeds deeply in the soil so that air 
cannot readily reach them, when they will remain totally 
unchanged, and only show signs of life when brought 
nearer the surface. The most favourable seasons for 
germination are spring and summer ; and, generally 
speaking, seeds sprout most readily in loose, pro¬ 
perly drained soil at a moderate depth, since under 
these conditions air, warmth, and moisture are present 
in suitable quantity. Under such conditions the root 
and first leaves are developed, and the plant is thereby 
capable of acquiring all necessary nourishment from its 
surroundings. Let us therefore take up the subject at 
this point, and look briefly into the life of the plant, 
together with some of the principal functions it is 
called upon to perform in order to support that life, 
when we shall find a wonderful system of laws working 
together with the utmost order and regularity — the 
smallest necessary detail, however insignificant it 
may appear, not being overlooked by the Creator. 
Plants, like animals, require food for their support, 
this food being derived from the soil in which they 
grow, and from the air, the latter means being by far 
" A Paper read before the Mansfield Horticultural Society by 
Mr. John <J, Agar. 
