552 
THE GARDENING WORLD 
April 30, 1898. 
flNTS FOR 
SEEDLINGS. 
There is no more interesting part of the gardener’s 
experience than the raising of seedling plants of all 
descriptions, more particularly tender plants that 
require the shelter of glasshouses to get them up be¬ 
times. At the same time these plantlets require 
particularly careful treatment, for in their early 
stages they will not stand the hardships that they 
will in their more mature conditions. Many of these 
seedlings require watching almost continually during 
the choppy and changeable weather that is charac¬ 
teristic of April, and often of the earlier part of May, 
and the amateur who cannot devote the whole of his 
time to them is at a disadvantage. Still, the raising 
of seedlings is such an important part of gardening 
that no man can claim to be even fairly proficient in 
the art unless he has learned by practice to handle 
seedlings with success. The flower garden, for in¬ 
stance, is dependent for a large part of its material 
upon plants raised from seed sown in the early 
months of the year, and tended through the critical 
stages of babyhood in April and May until they 
arrive at the first stage of vigorous planthood in 
early June, when they are ready for transference to 
open beds and borders out of doors. 
Recently we discussed the ways and means 
whereby a stock of bedding plants might be worked 
up from cuttings. Now we have to consider briefly 
the other common method of propagation, viz., by 
seed. 
Pricking Off. —This operation is one of the most 
important in the whole routine of seed raising, and 
is, indeed, fully as important as the sowing of the 
seed, for upon its proper performance depends in a 
very great measure the future career of the young 
plants. If carelessly carried out it is very seldom 
that the young plants do much good after it, whilst, 
on the other hand, if well done the plants grow away 
with little or any check, thankful for the increase of 
space granted them. Just now this kind of work is 
pressing its claims persistently, for it is not of the 
kind that can be relegated to some time in the futurp, 
near or otherwise. It must be done at once, for 
every day imperils the safety and welfare of the 
plants. At such a time as this the value of the oft 
repeated warnings against sowing seed too thickly can 
best be gauged, for where these warnings have been 
disregarded the seedlings are crowded from the very 
first, and really never have a chance to develop into 
vigorous plants. Where the sowing was practised 
as advised the seedlings can be left until they are of 
a fa'r size before they are disturbed, and they can 
then, as a matter of course, be handled by the 
operator with much greater ease and certainty. 
To the beginner "pricking off” will come as a 
somewhat tedious piece of work which will try his 
patience to a considerable extent. In such cases as 
tuberous Begonias, for instance, when the plants are 
so small that a pointed stick with a slit at the point 
has to be used to pick them up because the fingers 
are scarcely nimble enough to perform the task, the 
patience of the operator will have to be strongly 
developed. With such things as Stocks, Asters, 
Pyrethrum, Golden Feather, Lobelias, Dianthuses, 
Ageratums, &c , the seedlings will be of a size that 
can be readily picked up by the fingers without the 
aid of the stick a-forementioned. 
The soil for the seedlings should be carefully 
freed from all rubbish, and coarse lumps should be 
broken up by passing it through a sieve. No manure, 
chemical or otherwise, should be mixed with it. A 
good compost may be made of equal parts of loam 
and leaf soil with plenty of sand, mixing the whole 
thoroughly together. The pans, pots, or boxes 
which are to be used should be fairly well drained, 
and a layer of moss, or rough leaf soil, put over the 
cracks. Make the soil fairly firm, and the surface 
should be smooth and even. Then everything will 
be ready for a start. 
In taking the seedlings out of the seed pan the 
utmost care must be employed. The separation of 
the plants from each other is also a matter of the 
first importance. Rough or careless handling will 
lead to the destruction of a large proportion of the 
young side rootlets, and the baby plants start in 
their new quarters handicapped from the outset. 
" Stripping,” as the destruction of these side root¬ 
lets is technically called by gardeners, is a matter of 
very frequent occurence, and amateurs are specially 
warned against making the mistake. Such are often 
exercised in their own minds to account for seedlings 
dying off, one after the other, after they have been 
"pricked off,” and in the majority of cases this is 
the real cause. 
Another mistake equally as common is that of 
"hanging”—a not inappropriate term which is 
applied to the practice of leaving the young roots 
suspended in the soil but not in close contact with it. 
This is often brought about when too large holes are 
made, the plants roughly thrust in, and the holes as 
roughly covered in. The plants whose roots are thus 
exposed inevitably perish. “ Stripping” and "hang¬ 
ing ” then are' to be carefully avoided if success is 
desired. 
The soil and pans or boxes having been got in 
readiness a few of the plants should be taken out of 
the seed pan and carefully separated. Lay these out 
on a flat surface such as the lid of a box, where they 
can be picked up easily. Then with a wooden dibber 
make a hole in the soil in the prepared pan just 
large enough to take the roots of the plant without 
crushing them. The seedlings may be planted rather 
deeper in the new soil than they were in the seed pan, 
as this will help to keep them upright. Fill in the 
hole carefully, and make it firm by pressing the 
dibber down into the soil by its side. Avoid having 
too many of the young plants out of the soil at 
once, for the delicate roots soon perish. 
After Treatment.—Supposing the operation of 
pricking off the seedlings to have been properly 
accomplished, the next thing is to give them a water¬ 
ing with water of a temperature of from 65° to 70° 
Fahr. This should be done in such a way that the 
soil is not washed into mud, and a fine rose-can will 
therefore be necessary. Return the plants to the 
warm house from which they were taken, and keep 
them quite close for a few days. As the sun has now a 
good deal of power special attention must be given 
to shading. The shading should be put on and taken 
off as it is necessary, for it is not advisable to 
permanently shade seedlings, since it tends to make 
them drawn and weak in the stem. On dull days 
the full benefit of the light may thus be given the 
young plants, and this in itself is of no small 
moment. 
When the seedlings have begun to grow away 
vigorously they will call for more hardy treatment 
(we are dealing now exclusively with plants that are 
intended to do duty in the open presently), and to 
this end the house in which they are growing should 
be kept cooler, or, if this is not practicable on 
account of the presence of other tender plants in the 
same house, a removal should be made to a cooler 
house. If all goes well this removal may take place 
about the third week in May, and it will be the fiist 
step in the hardening off process. 
Other seedlings that are intended to grow into 
plants to do duty in pots under glass may, of course, 
be kept growing on as freely as possible in a gentle 
heat. Such things as Celosias and Cockscombs revel 
in an abundant supply of heat, whilst in the case of 
Primulas, Cyclamen, and the like which have to be 
raised in heat a cooler treatment is desirable. Not 
a few people make the mistake of Keeping their 
Primulas in heat for too long and the plants become 
drawn and weekly at the collars as a consequence 
when a rather lower temperature would have 
produced sturdy and vigorous plants. 
Seedling Ferns —We ought perhaps to apologise 
for using the term " seedling ” instead of the more 
correct " sporeling ” Ferns, but the idea conveyed 
by both terms to the average gardener who is not a 
student of physiological botany is practically the 
same, and we are not now discussing the points 
wherein a spore differs from a seed, and a seed from 
a spore. Where Ferns are grown for any length of 
time in a house it will always be possible to pick up 
a supply of young plants from the floor of the house 
underneath the trellis, in nooks in the walls, or 
indeed in any place where a little moisture is obtain¬ 
able. Where this has not been considered sufficient 
and a quantity of spores have been sown in pots of 
specially prepared soil, these pots will have to be 
watched with especial care. They must be kept 
closely shaded from the sun and well looked to for 
water. Instead of so much overhead watering, how¬ 
ever, which no matter how carefully it is done will 
wash the spores up together in heaps it will be well 
WMATEURS. 
to stand the pots in saucers, 2 in. or 3 in. deep, filled 
with water.— Rex. 
Correspondence. 
Questions asked by amateurs on any subject pertaining 
to gardens or gardening will be answered on this page. 
A nyone may give additional or more explanatory answers 
to questions that have already appeared. Those who desire 
their communications to appear on this page should write 
"Amateurs' Page ” on the top of their letters. 
Tomatos.—I have a wall which is at present un¬ 
occupied, facing to the west in my garden, and 
should like to utilise it for Tomatos, if you think 
they would do well. The soil is a rather sandy one, 
but I have a supply of stable manure that I could 
use for it if necessary. The height of the wall is 
4 ft.-P. T. 0. 
The western aspect will suit the Tomatos fairly 
well, although it is not so good as a southern one. 
Still, the plants will get a fair amount of sun, and 
sun is what Tomatos need first of all. The soil is of 
secondary importance, although it should not be 
neglected by any means. If it is inclined to be 
poor give it a good dressing with the manure you 
speak of. This should be done at once in order to 
avoid bringing the roots of the plants into contact 
with raw manure. You will need to train your plants 
diagonally, as they will soon get to the top of a 4 ft. 
wall. 
Hoya gone wrong. -I have (or rather had, for I 
am afraid it is dead now) a nice plant of Hoya car- 
nosa growing on the back wall in my greenhouse. 
The wall had got rather green and dirty, and last 
winter I thought I would try to improve the look of 
it a bit. I took the plant down, cleaned and lime- 
washed the wall, and returned the plant to its place. 
The wall now looks nice and clean, but the leaves 
of the plant have all gone yellow, and it appears to 
be dead. Has the limewashing done the mischief, 
and is there any hope of saving the plant ?— Mentor. 
The limewashing could have had no evil effects, 
but we think the cause of the evil lies in the fact 
that you have twisted the stems of the plant just 
above, or, perhaps, just below the soil, and death is 
following the injury. A speedy examination should 
ascertain whether the suggestion is correct, and if it 
is not the evil must be sought at the root. We fear 
there is little hope of saving the plant, as the succu¬ 
lent leaves of the Hoya do not hold out signals of 
distress immediately the injury to the plant is 
received, and the injury, whatever it is, has probably 
been operative for some time. 
Tulips with Mottled Leaves .— Gardener-. The 
most notable instance of a Tulip having mottled 
leaves is Tulipa Griegi, the foliage of which is, in its 
way, as handsome as the flowers. The leaves are of 
large size for a Tulip, rich green in colour, and 
spotted over with heavy, dark maroon spots. You 
should certainly grow the species. 
Acalypha musaica for the Flower Garden.— You 
are quite right in your supposition, Acalypha, that 
this plant would do well out of doors in the flower 
garden, but, unfortunately for the originality of the 
idea, as far as you are concerned, the practice has 
been adopted in several quarters. The plants colour 
exceedingly well, in fact, fully as well as as they do 
in the best warm houses, and they are very effective, 
for the colour is not at all a common one. Cuttings 
struck in the early spring if pushed on will make 
just the sort of plants for use in this way. 
Digging against Box Edging. — P. E. : We do not 
think you have made a mistake in turning the roots 
of the Box edging into the border, since it will give 
the Box a much better chance than if the roots had 
been turned into the gravel walk. In any case, the 
roots would ultimately turn towards the richer soil 
so you have only taken time by the forelock as it 
were. You must be careful not to dig too closely 
to the box with the spade; up to within 3 in. or 4 in. 
will be close enough for deep digging. 
Aponogeton distachyon.— G. T. B.: You may 
grow the Cape Pond Weed very well in the concreted 
tank of which you speak, but the depth (4 ft.) will 
be too much for the plants to be placed at the bot¬ 
tom of the tank. You might build a bank of soil in 
the middle of the tank as you suggest, but we think 
