THE FLOEAL WOELD AND GAEDEN GUIDE. 



79 



the strength of the dung, and an hour or 

 two later, the tub filled up with soft water 

 and allowed to stand a day or two to settle, 

 when a scum will rise on the top ; this may 

 be removed with a wire sieve or some other 

 contrivance which will leave a clear liquid 

 stimulant ; which, if not used in excess, 

 ■will not injure any plant to -which liquid 

 manure may at all be given. Bat I would 

 say, beware of using guano or other arti- 

 ficial manures of a hot nature. The plants 

 planted and watered, the bandages may be 

 removed and the leaves placed in their 

 natural position, and if the weather is 

 bright a shading of tift'any or thin mats 

 may be put on tlie pit, and a light syring- 

 ing with warm water given all over the 

 plants and walls just before the sun falls 

 upon tlie glass in the morning, and again 

 early in the afternoon before it quite leaves 

 it. "Air must be attended to if the weather 

 is warm ; but this should at first, or until 

 the plants are somewhat established, be 

 obviated as much as possible by shading 

 and keeping the fire low ; if it is seen in 

 the morning that the day is likely to be 

 bright and warm, the valve may also be 

 turned, and the How of water cut off from 

 the four-inch pipes that heat the atmo- 

 sphere, and be made to circulate only in 

 the bottom-heat pipes. Indeed, at all times 

 this is a point that should be attended to, 

 for it is useless Vv-aste to consume fuel to 

 heat the air and then have to thi'ow open 

 the house to prevent things being scorched. 

 As soon as the sun breaks upon tlie glass, 

 as soon as it can be seen that the day is 

 likely to be bright, the fire should be damped 

 by shutting in the damper ; and unless it 

 is required for bottom-heat, no fresh fuel 

 should be added; but as bottom-heat must 

 be cared for iu warm as well as in cold 

 weather, it will sometimes be found neces- 

 sary to maintain a slow fire on purpose; 

 and having thrown out this caution against 

 firing too late iu the morning, let me cau- 

 tion against being too remiss in the after- 

 noon. I like the fire to be lighted early, 

 so that the heat from the pipes just begins 

 to tell upon the atmosphere as the sun's 

 rays begin to fail, and thus keep up, as it 

 •were, a lengthened day; for if the sun-heat 

 begins to decline very perceptibly before the 

 fire is lighted, it will only be regained when 

 daylight is so far declined as to cause it to 

 be injurious rather than beneficial to the 

 plants; heat with light is the principle to 

 be acted upon in pine growing, in order to 

 produce sturd}', well-conditioned plants, 

 capable of throwing up well -formed fruit ; 

 but heat with darkness will rather tend to 

 the contrary end, from which fact, my 

 readers will understand why a lower tem- 



perature is recommended during the night 

 than during the day; also, wliy they may 

 not, with impunity, use a high temperature 

 in winter. But there are some exceptions 

 to the last rule ; that is, wheu a bright day 

 happens even in winter, as it will occa- 

 sionally, a rise of a few degrees above the 

 ordinary temperature will then do good, 

 and should be taken advantage of, but I 

 never attempt by fire-heat alone, unaided 

 by the sun, to raise the heat much above 

 the minimum; aud tliis maybe fixed fur 

 winter at from 58' to 62' by ni>iht, and 

 from 65" to 68' by day; but with sun- 

 heat, 75' to 80'. As the spring advances, 

 a proportionate advance may be allowed in 

 the temperature both night and day, until 

 65' to 70' is reached by night, and 80' to 

 90', or in the afternoon 95' may be at- 

 tained by day, in the summer months, as 

 the bottom-heat will vary much less thg,n 

 that of the atmosphere, and may be kept 

 steadily at about 75' in winter, to be raised 

 to 80' in spring, as soon as active growth 

 commences, and may advance as high as 

 85' without doing injury, beyond which it 

 should not go. Syringing, both over the 

 plants and between the stems must be at- 

 tended to generally once a-day in winter, 

 unless the weather is very dull, and twice 

 or three times a-day in summer. The bed 

 will reqirire a thorough watering occa- 

 sionally besides the syringing, as have 

 already been explained. Air must be at- 

 tended to, and given early in the day, and 

 continued on so long as is necessary to 

 keep the temperature to the proper point, 

 but not so long but that the sun may raise 

 it 5' after it is shut. I am a great advo- 

 cate for airing early iu the day, aud like- 

 wise closing early; the first prevents the 

 flagging of foliage, tlie latter prevents a 

 cold stagnant air during the night. 



If sufficient air is given, shading will 

 only be necessary during very hot and 

 bright weather, or after replanting, before 

 the plants have re-established themselves; 

 then only for two or three hours, from 

 eleven o'clock, a m., and should consist of a 

 very thin material, sucli as tiff'anj-; this 

 may be tacked on light frames for the 

 greater convenience of removal. These 

 frames, so covered, may be made useful 

 for other purposes, such as protecting fruit 

 blossoms in spring, or covering bedding 

 plants by night, wlien set out to harden. 

 Night covering, where it can be applied 

 not only saves fuel by rendering less fire- 

 heat necessary, but preserves the internal 

 atmosphere in a more congenial state, from 

 intercepting the escape of the moisture 

 through the laps of the glass. 



H. HOWLETT. 



