258 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y. 



Methods of Cultivation. 



Many systems of cultivation are employed, and as each method 

 has its special advantages, that to be adopted must be decided by 

 the individual grower according to his circumstances. The plants 

 are propagated during the spring months, grown in pots for a time, 

 and finally placed in benches or borders under glass. They may 

 also be grown in pots throughout the year, or planted in the open 

 ground for the summer months and transferred to pots early in 

 autumn. The best results are undoubtedly obtainable under pot 

 culture, as witness the marvellous plants and blooms produced by 

 this process in England ; and the best plants we have so far seen in 

 this country have been grown in pots. The reason of this is not 

 difficult to trace. The roots of plants in pots are confined to certain 

 limits and beneficial food, and a grower of ordinary experience may 

 readily supply any nourishment which, from the behavior of the 

 plant, appears to be lacking, or withhold any injurious application 

 of water or stimulants. This cannot be accomplished successfully 

 by any other mode of culture. But except in those rare instances 

 where fully developed specimens are desired for exhibition pur- 

 poses, exclusive pot culture is not advisable in this country. The 

 heat and drought of our summers render it too expensive. 



Where marketable or exhibition blooms are required, beds or 

 benches under glass aiford the most economical means of growing 

 these plants. There is, as has been lately evidenced in the horti- 

 cultural press, some disparity of opinion as to the relative merits of 

 beds and benches. It should be understood that the term bed here 

 applies to a solid mass of earth the sides of which may be defined 

 by boards or masonry, but the body of soil of indefinite thickness, 

 wdth from six to eight inches of prepared compost on the top. A 

 bench, on the other hand, has bottom and sides restricted, with 

 capacity for a body of soil averaging six inches in depth. Our 

 experience has amply demonstrated that the benches, under proper 

 treatment, give the best results. The condition of the soil, as to 

 moisture and fertility, can be better controlled in the latter ; and in 

 this regard bench culture comes nearer the perfection of pot treat- 

 ment than any other system. One great difference presents itself in 

 that the plants, with roots spreading at will throughout the soil, 

 must be treated collectively rather than individually. This is a 

 drawback of no mean importance where numerous varieties are planted 

 indiscriminately in the same bench, but one which may be eliminated 



