CHE REFERENCE LIBRARY - ZetaTalk

PROPAGATION BY MEANS OF SEEDS AND SPORES 35&&my seeds demand treatment preparatory to sowing.Nparly all hard and bony seeds fail t.0 gtWninate, or at leastgerminate ~eq’ irregularly, if their (tontents are allowed tobecome thorcrughl~ dry aud hard. The shells must also bes&tmxl or brokt~, ill many cases, before the embryo c’an grow.Nature treats such seeds by keepin, (r them constantly moistunder leaves c)r mold, and by cracking them with frost. Thissuggests the pra,ctice known to gardeners as sfrn~$LY&X2., anopt33tion that consists in mixing seeds with earth and exposingthem to frost or to moisture for a r~onsiderable time (cf. page 24) +Stratification is pra&ed, as a rule, with all nuts, the seedsof forest, trees, shrubs, the pips of haws and often of roses, andin many cases with the seeds of common fruits.Seeds should be stratified as soon as possiblt~ after they aremat,ure. Small seeds arch usunliy plact~tl in thin layers in abox alti~rnating with ai& iuch or two of sand. Srmietimes theseeds are mix4 iiltliscritliinut~l~ in the sand, but unless theyare large it, is troublesomt~ to separate them at sowing-time.The sand i.-; rjfte1! SOCVII with the seetls, 110\;5’e~~~r, but it is difficultin such wsw to clistributt: thtb seeds c\~t$~. and in sowinglarge quantities the ha,nrlliu, cp of the sand entails a cunsiderableburden and becomes an itt>ul of taspeuse. It is advisable topass the sand through a sieve of finer tuesh than the seeds, andthe seeds can then be sifted out at sowing-time. If the seedsare very small or few iu number, they Mary be placed betweenfolds of thin muslin, which is then laid in the sand. Anyshallow box, like a gardener’s “ flat ,” is useful in making stratifications,or pots m&v be used with small lots r,f seeds althoughpots are likely to be shattered by much freezing. A flat fourinches in depth might contain two w three layers or strata ofseeds the size of peas.The disposition of the boxes when filled varies with different