As soon as the seeds are collected, they should be spread upon tables or boards, and should be frequently turned until perfectly dry. They may then be stored in boxes in slightly damp sand or sawdust, or in powdered charcoal and kept in a cool and dry place until spring. Or if they are to be sown immediately they need not be dried, but simply mixed with enough dry sand to absorb the water so as to make them easy to handle Seeds should not be allowed to become hard and dry through long exposure to the air, or they will germinate unevenly. Apple seeds procured at the seed stores are often worthless because of this neglect. Very dry seeds can sometimes be grown, however, by subjecting them to repeated soakings and then sprouting in a gentle hot-bed or mild forcing-house. Change the water on the seeds every day, and at the end of a week or ten days mix with sand and place in a thin layer in the hot-bed. Stir frequently to prevent molding. When the seeds begin to sprout, sow them in the open ground. This operation, which is sometimes called _pipping_, may be performed in a small way by the kitchen stove. Seeds are sometimes "pipped" between moist blankets. (See also page 17.) When sowing is done in the fall, the seeds may be sown in the pomace. This entails extra labor in sowing, but it saves the labor of washing. This practice gives good results if the pomace is finely broken, and it is now common among nurserymen. In loose and well-drained soils, sowing is undoubtedly best performed in the fall, just as early as the seeds are ready. But upon land which holds much water, and which heaves with frost or contains much clay, spring sowing is preferable. In spring, the seeds should be sown just as soon as the ground can be worked. If the stocks are to be cultivated with a horse, the rows should be three or three and a half feet apart. Some growers sow in narrow drills and some in broad ones. The broad drills are usually six to ten inches wide. The earth is removed to the depth of two or three inches, if it is loose and in good condition, the seed is scattered thinly on the surface and the earth hoed back over them. If the ground is likely to bake, the seeds should not be sown so deep; and it is always well, in such cases, to apply some very light and clean mulch. The plants should be well cultivated during the season, and they should attain a height of six to twelve inches or more the first year. If the plants come thickly, they must be thinned out.