The Garden Under Glass

PROPAGATION UNDER GLASS 207 Cover lightly with more fine soil, press lightly, water with a fine rosed can, cover with a sheet of glass, shade with a sheet of paper and put in a suitable temperature about 50 or io° higher than that in which the plants usually grow. Boxes, of course, may be similarly treated, though no crocks, but only leaves, will be needed at the bottom. For sowing seeds which will soon be pricked off, shallow trays, bought very cheaply from a horticultural sundriesman, will be found most useful. Seeds germinate best in a soil fine, firm and porous—-a suitable mixture being two parts loam, one part leaf-soil and one part sand, through a quarter-inch sieve. Frequent mistakes in seed sowing are filling the pans or boxes too full, not providing drainage and using soil containing animal or Chemical manure. Propagation by Cuttings The conditions essential to success in rooting cuttings are that the wood be in a sufficient state of ripeness, that the cutting be inserted in light, sandy soil at a suitable time and a suitable depth, that it be cut off Straight just below a joint, that it be put in firmly, and afterwards receive the necessary attention in the matter of warmth, water and shading. In degree these conditions differ with various plants ; the more difficult the subject the more diligent should we be to ascertain the suitable conditions and the more scrupulous to ensure them. How to Make and Insert Cuttings A cutting should usually be the point of the shoot and contain from four to six buds or joints, though with hard-wooded stuff the preservation of the growing point is not