in the refrigerator. The next spring they will germinate just 
as well as if they were freshly harvested. But if your season 
is long enough for the seedlings to grow for at least two 
months before freezing weather arrives, then you may sow 
your seeds about the middle of September when cooler and 
rainier days arrive. If your season is cool enough, the seeds 
may be sown the first week in August, rarely earlier. In any 
case you are strongly urged to sow half of your packet of seeds 
in the fall, and the other in the spring, particularly if you are 
in doubt about your zone. 
Excessive rains play havoe with young seedlings, there- 
fore seedbeds should be given glass protection against the 
rains. The glass should be covered with one thickness of bur- 
lap to cut down the intensified heat of direct sunshine. A 
free circulation of air being essential, the glass should be 
tilted up all the time. The rain will run off the slanting sur- 
face without reaching the seedlings, and the air will continue 
to circulate and thus prevent a dead atmosphere which is con- 
ducive to the appearance of all sorts of harmful bacteria and 
fungi. Light has no effect on the germination of delphinium 
seeds; let there be light. 
Use deep flats to start seedlings, or flower pots if you have 
but a few seeds. Place gravel in the bottom to afford drainage, 
and fill up with any good garden soil, preferably one taken 
from under a well established sod. The soil should be neutral, 
neither acid nor alkaline. If you are in no position to determine 
this, you may go on the assumption that any good garden soil 
is good enough for delphiniums. Add one third sand of two- 
thirds of soil to improve the texture. Avoid peat moss, 
sphagnum moss, woods’ dirt, wood ashes, leaf mold, manure; 
never, never use any fertilizer; just soil and sand, and you are 
safe. Place a pinch of Semesan in the seedpacket, shake well, 
and sow thickly right on the surface of the soil, press down 
firmly by a piece of 2 x 4, and cover with soil not deeper than 
twice the diameter of the seed. Plunge the flat or the pot 
part way in water and allow the capilarity to bring the water 
to the surface of the soil; then remove from the water, allow 
to drain, and put it in a sheltered place, preferably a cold- 
frame with glass and burlap protection. Fence the cold-frame 
against animals. Never allow the surface soil to dry; it is 
fatal. Overwatering is equally fatal. After the seedlings 
came up (10 or 15 days), water them with Semesan solution, 
one level tablespoonful to the gallon. This prevents post- 
emergence damping-off. Use enough of this solution to 
moisten the surface soil not more than one-fourth of an inch 
deep. Germination of seed is very high when expanded mica is 
used as a medium for starting plants. The 1946 year book has 
several reports on this subject by users. 
Where seeds are sown in the fall, the seedlings may be 
left undisturbed until the following spring. But its seasons 
are long, the seedings may be transplanted into bands and later 
on into the field. In case of spring sowing, one transplanting 
prior to fielding out is recommended, Fertilizer and lime ap- 
plications should be made months ahead of transplanting, or 
at least two months after; never at the time of planting. In 
the winter the cold frames should receive hay or straw pro- 
tection in addition to glass. Early in the spring when the 
young seedlings begin to push their way up, they should be 
transplanted into wooden bands, 3x 3x4, kept in the cold frame 
for five or six weeks, and set out in their permanent place. This 
reduces transplanting losses to the minimum, In warmer reg- 
ions a northern exposure is preferable; in cooler regions full 
sunlight is the most benefical. If you are located in a region 
where mildew is prevalent, dust with sulfur. Cyclamen mite 
