The Garden Under Glass

THE AMATEUR’S FRAME 285 to purchase. Hence it becomes incumbent on me to give a few hints on the management of a frame. The great danger with frames is that plants will suffer from damp-ness during winter or from scorching during summer and the one and only remedy for both these faults is plenty of fresh air. It is scarcely likely during the winter that there will be any plants in the frame which cannot be subjected to a füll flood of air. Therefore I advise that the frame be ventilated freely whenever the glass is above freezing point. In faet, during dry weather it is advisable that the lights be drawn right back. But they must be put on again during rain and frost. It is safe to say that very little water will be needed during winter, but the following pre-cautions may be taken. With pot plants the pots should be so set that they do not touch, so that the pot rapper may be got among them to test each pot. Only those which show unmistakable signs of needing water should receive it, and then it should be afforded in such a way that the foliage be not made wet, that water be not spilled about, and that none be allowed to flow over the rim of the pot. Furthermore, only a fine day should be chosen for watering, and the best time is the mørning, so that the plants may dry before night. To further strengthen the armour of defence against the insidious enemy, dampness, it would be well to look over the plants occasionally, pick off all decayed leaves, loosen the soil, wipe the green slime off the pots, and dry the trellis on which they stand. If these means do not allow the grower to keep his plants—well, he may place the blame where he will, but certainly it will be neither his nor mine. I would like to emphasise the importance of choosing a dry bottom on which to stand the frame, and an open position. Cold is not our enemy, but dampness ; and this dampness it is impossible to dispel if the bottom of