PUDOR’S, INC., 

PUYALLUP, 

PP eT SS Sis Esinaiatedie nanneneatiaaeiemennnricaaeeeeaae as 
WASHINGTON 23 

OUR LUPIN FIELD IN THE HEIGHT OF ITS GLORY IN JUNE 
. READ IT 
O~ GERMINATION OF 
The first plantings of Delphinium seeds invariably bring re- 
ports of failures and, usually, seed or soil are blamed. The illus- 
tration shows one of half a dozen seed boxes and seems to offer 
a worth-while method. The secret, if there be one, is merely first 
eare. Delphinium seed must have low, steady temperatures 
from 10 to 15 days, with constant surface moisture, darkness and 
apparently company, for best results. The 6 varieties of seed 
shown could not have come so evenly save through planting 
methods. The soil used was leafmold and sand, with a little loam 
to stiffen it. Spraying with a mildew remedy was used to pre- 
vent damping off. 
Not a single plant perished prior to transplanting. The box 
was filled within one inch of top, wetted thoroughly (lots of drain- 
age was provided) then filled to brim and pressed evenly. The 
seed was sown in rows and merely pressed in to insure equal 
depth and covered with sifted leafmold and powdered sphagnum. 
An empty flat served as a cover when stood on the north side of 
a wall. The seedlings were up on the eleventh day, the cover 
DELPHINIUM SEEDS 
being removed on the thirteenth day. The box was brought up 
to a lath frame on the eighteenth day and fully exposed on the 
twenty-fifth day. 
This method enables one to note first evidence of damping off, 
permits soil stirring between rows and prompt detection note of 
slugs or sowbugs, besides permitting equal development of every , 
plant. When sown broadcast in a large bed, none of these ad- 
vantages exist. A few flats are enough for largest plantings. 
Pricked out when true leaves first appear, the roots are just be- 
ginning to branch and plantlets fall apart easily and never halt 
in growth. Sown broadcast, one cutworm, or one damping off 
spot may, before notice, ruin many plants. Never delay pricking 
out after true leaves appear.—(Vanderbilt.) 
A flat of Prize Winner “‘Pedigreed’”’ Delphinium Seedlings, 
containing over 500 plants, sown September 1 and photographed 
October 25. Seedlings will be planted in the open field in March 
and will bloom profusely during next September and October. 
What new surprises will they bring? The flats are wintered in 
a COLD greenhouse and the tops will freeze down completely. 

