[Illustration: 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. Even sound and strong seeds should be watered with care. Drenchings usually weaken or destroy them. The earth should be kept simply damp. To insure comparative dryness in in-door culture, some loose material, as pieces of broken pots or clinkers, should be placed in the bottom of the pot or box to afford drainage. It should be borne in mind, however, that the seed bed should be approximately equally moist throughout its depth. The waterings should therefore be copious enough to moisten the soil throughout. A wet or moist surface over a dry substratum should always be avoided. Error is common here. It is usually best to apply water with a watering-pot, as watering with a hose is apt to wash out the seeds and to pack the soil, and the quantity of water is not so easily regulated.