December 23, 1916 



HORTICULTURE 



839 



ROSE GROWING UNDER GLASS 



^ CONBL'CTED BV 



answered 



The Propagating Benches 



As soon as these are properly cleaned top and bottom, 

 and underneath, they should receive a good dose of 

 whitewash, to which can be added a little copper sul- 

 phate, or bluestone as it is called. This will act as a 

 fungicide and will enable tiie lime to make a much bet- 

 ter job of the cleaning. Following the whitewashing 

 the fires can be started if separate boilers are installed 

 to care for the propagating house. After this the sand 

 can be brought in. This sliould be screened free from 

 all small pebbles. It should not be too fine nor too 

 coarse, but medium grade such as would be used by 

 masons in plaster, clean and sharp. The benches 

 should be filled so that when the sand is packed down it 

 will be about four or five inches in depth. Make sure 

 that all holes in the bench bottom are stopped up with 

 moss or the sand will run through as soon as water is 

 applied. For bench bottom we like nothing better than 

 slate, althougli there are thousands of roses rooted on 

 wood bottoms. As long as the bottom will give good 

 drainage and let enough heat through, it will answer. 

 As soon as the benches are filled, a good watering should 

 be given, first making sure that the sand is leveled off 

 properly. After this the sand should be well packed 

 with a brick or some wooden tool made for the purpose. 

 Care should be taken to pack the sand evenly and not 

 to strike too hard in any one place and it should be 

 gone over three or four times until it is vei7 smooth 

 and firm. Thennometers should be placed in the sand 

 every twenty feet or so, and there should be a ther- 

 mometer for every ventilator overhead. There should 

 also be cheese cloth or muslin curtains provided, ex- 

 tending from the edge of the bench to the glass if the 

 house is low. or else the muslin should be stretched 

 over a frame built over the bench if the propagating is 

 done in a big house. There should also be a piece of 

 cloth across the bencli every here and there to break all 

 air currents as much as possible. 



Shading 



Before the house will be ready for cuttings, attention 

 will have to be given to shading it, so that there wiU bo 

 no danger of the sun's rays wouking through any- 

 where and hitting the cuttings, causing them to wilt the 

 least bit, for once they wilt it will be all over with 

 them, as they will never" root. One cannot be too careful 

 therefore when applying shading. Lime should not be 

 used as it will destroy the paint on the woodwork. There 

 are concerns that manufacture greenhouse shading and 

 this shading is ideal to use. If none is on hand some 

 can be made at home of white lead and kerosene or 

 whiting and kerosene, adding a little drier to set it 

 quicker. Gasolene would be better, but it is much more 

 expensive. Add a little green paint to the mixture to 



give the shading a greenish tone. This will reduce the 

 light a great deal and will be better for the cuttings and 

 look better on the outside as well as inside. The 

 shading should be applied with a brush to insure proper 

 distribution, this not always being possible with a 

 spray pump. 



A Cross House as a Propagator 



Many plants arc started in cross houses and if no 

 better house is to be had, a cross house can be made 

 to do. If possible select the one that is used the least 

 for walking, so that the cuttings will not suffer from 

 draft and jarring of the doors as they are opened and 

 closed. This may seem very small, but the doors are 

 often slammed and the vibration is none too good for 

 the cuttings. The trouble with most cross houses is 

 that they usually have far too much heat, and if this is 

 the case in the one selected, the mains and. as many of 

 the pipes as necessary should be covered over with as- 

 bestos, or if looks are no consideration ordinary news- 

 paper can be used. Be careful to keep enough pipes 

 under the benches uncovered to give the proper amount 

 of heat. The bench to be used for propagating should 

 be boarded in on the sides so that all heat will have 

 to go through the sand. Doors should be left all along 

 so that the heat in the sand can be controlled by open- 

 ing or closing the same. Should there not be sufficient 

 ventilation some glass can be taken out on the side and 

 cloth substituted. This cloth can be sprayed with water 

 during real cold weather, and will freeze stiff, thus 

 being as tight as the glass would be, at the same time 

 letting air in and out during the mild days when air 

 is necessary to keep the house cool enough. If the 

 cross house was never used before it will be best to test 

 it out thoroughly before chancing any cuttings in the 

 sand. To do this have a thermometer every ten feet in 

 the sand and every ten feet overhead, to see just how the 

 temperature runs. If it is very uneven, pipes will have 

 to be uncovered in the cold spots, and covered up 

 wliere the temperature exceeds the required point. 



Temperatures 



We find it best to run the thermometer around C6 

 degrees F., in the sand, with as near 50 as possible over- 

 head. The low overhead temperature will keep the top 

 eyes from starting and this is necessary so that all the 

 energy will be given to making roots. Some growers 

 propagate right in a rose house having a high overhead 

 temperature. The cuttings may root well, but the plants 

 will never have the vitality of cool propagated stock, 

 and in the long run it will pay to go to a little extra 

 trouble and have everything just so in the propagator, 

 as next season's profits largely depend on the plants 

 that will be turned out now. With the high cost of 

 everything nowadays, every plant must be a thorough- 

 bred or there will be money lost. There is nothing in 

 growing poor stock except a lot of hard work, and a 

 deficit at the end of the year. Get the cuttings as good 

 as possible. 



