The Garden Under Glass

276 THE GARDEN UNDER GLASS and cuttings—that there be no manure of any kind in the soil—need not be strictly enforced. A small addition of horse manure from an old mushroom bed will do no harm to most plants, but will help them to push away gladly. The use of Chemical fertilisers in soil intended for pricking off is not to be recommended. A good mixture woulcl be three parts loam, three parts leaf-soil, two parts sand and one part horse manure. In the case of seedlings raised in the greenhouse it is usual to prick them off into boxes. These boxes may be made of any convenient size and shape —a good size would be about 2| feet by i foot, which would accommodate sixty to sixty-five plants. Another useful size is 2 feet by 15 inches, which will usually accommodate seventy plants. Two or three inches apart is the usual distance at which to set the plants. In no case would I recommend the use of a dibber for pricking off. The index finger is far more serviceable, for with its use the roots are not so cramped up, and the work may be done quite as quickly. Moreover, there is not the same need for firming the plants as when inserting cuttings. Frame for Pricking Out Where facilities do not exist for the use of boxes—which are rendered more useful by the faet that they can be carried to the beds—a frame may be set up for the purpose. It will, let us presume, be standing on a hard bottom, so that it will be necessary to put in some soil. Before the pricking-off soil is put in it is advised to cover the bottom of the frame with leaf-soil or with mushroom manure. Over this may then be spread the soil, which will need to be firmed. If nothing is put at the bottom of the frame, it is quite likely that the roots of the young plants will be made to rest direetly on the hard ground, whereas with