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.liimmry 2, 1915 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



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Questions by our renders In line with nny of the topics presented on this pnge will be rordlnlly received iind promptly sDSwered 

 by Mr. Huil.kn Suili i iiiiiiiiiinlciitlnnn shmild liivarlalily Ijo iidilroBscd tu the ■illl.c ,.f lloUTICl l/rUKK. 



Watering 



Willi iiresciit wfuUar tui id i lions, lire licat lias to be 

 put to the hous«3S quite a good deal, and where all the 

 heating pipes are under the benches, it will require care- 

 ful work to see that the plants do not get too dry in 

 place>, or at the b<(ttoin of the benches. It often hap- 

 pens that the surface of the benches seems to be plenty 

 wet enough, while the Ixittoni is veiy drj-. The roots are 

 in the !)ottoni of the benches, and wnth the heat tliat 

 c.inies uj) from the ])\\tes the water will evaporate very 

 rapidly. If the plants are allowed to dry out this way, 

 and remain so for any length of time, serious trouble 

 may result. Water well during cold snaps — not too 

 much but well. This means soak the soil until the water 

 drips through the benches quite freely, leaving no dry 

 spot*. Before doing this it is well to go over the 

 benches, and see that the jdaces that are very dry are 

 watered once, and then follow with the last thorough 

 %vatering. If tliis were not done, these dry spots would 

 shed water and the result would be that the plants would 

 be drA- almost immediatt'ly after. It is best not to al- 

 low these spots to fomi. and shoidd there l>e any places 

 where the soil dries out so fa.=t that it is almost impos- 

 sible to keep the plants wet, then apply a little manure 

 to tiiese places, with a little coarse sod in it if necessary, 

 and tliis.will keep them on the even with the rest of the 

 bench. 



Sand 



•Sand for ])ropagation should be as clean as it is pos- 

 sible to get it, sharp, and not too coarse, or too fine 

 either. To test the sand for cleanliness, take a handful 

 of it and rub it between the hands. If the sand is clean 

 your hands will remain clean. Should the sand carry a 

 clay or mud, the hands will get a coat of it at once. 

 Such sand is not as good for propagating as clean sand 

 is, but if no other is to be had then it must do. A good 

 soaking will- remove a large quantity of the clay, espe- 

 cially if tiie |)ropagating bench has perfect drainage. 

 It will be well to water it heavily two or three times, 

 leaving the water that nins through to carry away all 

 clay and other sediment. If the water does not disa]> 

 pear rapidly, but remains standing on the surface of the 

 sand there is sometliing wrong with the drainage, and 

 this defect should be remedied at once. It is very im- 

 portant to have perfect drainage, for without this a 

 large portion of the cuttings are almost sure to fail in 

 rooting. Before filling the benches for propagating, 

 make sure that they are well cleaned, and all the old 

 sand taken away. Clean out well under the benches too, 

 for there will be a million fungi there at least, all wait- 

 ing to get into the new sand to get busy. Whitewash 

 the benches veil, not forgetting to use a little copper sul- 

 phate in the lime. Sulphur will do nicely, too, but then 

 it should be boiled into the lime when the latter is slak- 



Packing the Sand 



As soon as the sand is bnuighi into the benches, it 

 should be leveled oti to the projMjr depth, and watered 

 well to settle and moisten it. After that it should be 

 well packed, and there is no tool better for tliis than 

 the good old-fashioned brick. It is better to use less 

 force for the work and strike the sand oftener, for a 

 big blow will loosen the sand in another place. Where 

 the bottoms of the benches are made of slate, this is 

 very apt to be broken by careless packing of the sand. 

 An ordinary concrete tamper with the handle sawed off 

 short would make an excellent tool for this work, but it 

 is rather heavy, and the work gets pretty tiresome before 

 the day goes by. In packing the sand, do not strike 

 more than once in the same place, but start on one end 

 of the bench and go all the way across and then go from 

 side to side. 



Care of Cuttings in Sand 



As fast as the cuttings are made they should be put 

 into the sand, for it will not do them any good to have 

 them stay in water any length of time. As fast as they 

 are cut they should he dropped into a pail of clean water, 

 and then put into sand as soon as possible. Put 

 them in straight rows across the bench, and 

 about the same distance apart. In this way it will be 

 easy to keep coiuit of them, and there will be little 

 guesswork as to the number in sand. A putty knife is 

 about the handiest tool to use, with a narrow strip of 

 wood with a handle in the center and a brick for firm- 

 ing. As soon as one row is in, all that is necessary to 

 firm it is to hit the stick two or three times with the 

 brick, and then ninko another cut in the sand with the 

 knife on the other side of the stick. In tins way the 

 cuttings can be put into the sand very fast, and no time 

 will be lost. As soon as a lot is in, they should be 

 watered at once, after which they should only have 

 water when it is necessary, and this will be every day for 

 the Brst few days, ifake sui'c that the house is shaded 

 so that there will be no sun to hit the cuttings, and 

 alfo that the vents are screened if necessary, to prevent 

 draughts of air on I he cuttings. Where the propagating 

 is done in a cross-house it will Ije well to use cheese- 

 cloth all around t\w bench. Fasteruit so that it can be 

 lifted at any time. Run the temperature in the sand 

 around 60 degrees F. and about 56 overhead — not 

 warmer, rather a ticgree or two cooler. The idea of the 

 low temperature oM'rhead is to discourage the cuttings 

 from making top gro^vth, for if this came before the 

 roots started, the latter would not start at all. In put- 

 ting the cuttings in, make sure that all the leaves are 

 made to point one way. This will make the work look 

 much neater, and be of great advantage all the way 

 around. 



