SEEDAGE.
Seedage.—The process or operation of propagating by seeds or spores, or the state or condition of being propagated by seeds or spores.
There are three external requisites to the germination of seeds—moisture, free oxygen, and a definite temperature. These requisites are demanded in different degrees and proportions by seeds of different species, or even by seeds of the same species when differing widely in age or degree of maturity. The supply of oxygen usually regulates itself. It is only necessary that the seeds shall not be planted too deep, that the soil is porous and not overloaded with water. Moisture and temperature, however, must be carefully regulated.
Fig. 1. Double Seed-Pot.
Regulation of Moisture.—Moisture is the most important factor in seedage. It is usually applied to the seeds by means of soil or some similar medium, as moss or cocoanut fiber. Fresh and vigorous seeds endure heavy waterings, but old and poor seeds must be treated sparingly. If there is reason to suspect that the seeds are weak, water should not be applied to them directly. A favorite method of handling them is to sow them in a pot of loose and sandy loam which is set inside a larger pot, the intermediate space being filled with moss, to which, alone, the water is applied. This device is illustrated in [Fig. 1]. The water soaks through the walls of the inner pot and is supplied gradually and constantly to the soil. Even in this case it is necessary to prevent soaking the moss too thoroughly, especially with very weak seeds. When many pots are required, they may be simply plunged in moss with the same effect. The soil should be simply very slightly moist, never wet. Moisture is sometimes supplied by setting the seed-pot in a shallow saucer of water, or it may be sufficient to simply place it in the humid atmosphere of a propagating-box. Large seeds may be laid upon the surface of the soil in a half-filled pot, covered with thin muslin, and then covered with loose and damp loam. Every day the pot is inverted, the covering taken off and fresh soil is added. A modification of this plan for small seeds can be made by placing the seeds between two layers of thin muslin and inserting them in damp loam, which is frequently renewed to avoid the extremes which would result from watering or from allowing the soil to become dry. In these last operations, no water is applied to the seeds and they constitute one of the most satisfactory methods of dealing with seeds of low vitality. They are essentially the methods long ago used by Knight, who laid such seeds between two sods cut from an old and dry pasture.