CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - Pole Shift Survival Information

50 THE N [JRSER I’--MA N IT.4 I;
muslin may be utilized in the same way, although this is apt to adhere to
the soil. Pots and small pans can be immersed nearly to their rims in a
bucket of water, allowing the liquid to saturate the soil from below upwards.
After the sowing and waterin g are completed, keep the frame or house
fairly close until germination has, taken place, after which ventilation
must be afiord& as freely as outside conditiorx will admit. Give water
whenever the soil is at all dry, but avoid overdoing it. Remember, seediings
in an eariy stage do not want large quantities of water; but, on the
other hand, they must not be allowed to become dry.”
Sou?iag spores
Ferns, lycopodiums and selaginellas are often grown from
spores. Th e general conditions required for the germination
of very fine seeds are a.lso suitable for the germination of spores,
but extra care must be taken with the drainage. If a pot is
used, it should be half or more filled with drainage material,
and the soil should be made loose by the addition of bits of
brick, charcoal, (binders or other porous materials. The surface
soil should be fine and uniform. Some persons place a
thin 1aJver of brick-dust on the surface, in which the spores are
so1y-n. It is a8 frequent practice to bake the soil to destroy other
spores that might cause troublesome growths.
The spores should be sprinkled on the surface and not covered.
The pot should be set in a saucer of water, or in damp moss,
and it should be col-ered b>T paper or a pane of glass if the sun
strikes it or it is in a draughty place. Better results are obtained
if the pot or pan is placed inside a propagating-frame or
u~cler a Ml-glass. Tn place of earth, a block or small cubes of
firm peat or sandstone may be employed Wig. 3 right ; Fig. 5).
The blwk is plawd in a saucer of water and the spores are
sown 011 its surfaw. Water should not. be applied directly to
the spores, as it. dislodges them.
The period of germination varies in different species, but
three to six weeks army he wusidered the ordinary limits.
Spww aw SO eswedingly small and light that the greatest