X INTEODUCTIOX. 



side of the old ball lose their nourishment whenever thev are 

 in the hollow. In pressing the soil down be careful not to 

 injure the fibres. 



WATERING. 



Water no oftener than is necessary, but do it effectually. 

 Never fall into a common error that a plant which requires 

 but little water is to have a small allowance each time. It 

 ought to have as much at each watering as will go through 

 every part of the soil, and no more till it is getting dry. 

 Remember that a plant may be starved for want of water, 

 and yet have twice as much as it requires : a little given 

 every day would not wet half an inch down the pot, and 

 three-fourths of the soil below would be quite dry. Some 

 plants require water once a day, some once a week, some once 

 a month ; but whenever they do have it every grain of soil in 

 the pot should be wetted. 



STRIKING CUTTINGS. 



This is for the sake of propagating plants. Every part of 

 a plant contains the rudiments of every part of a new one, 

 and nature disposes it to perfect itself; that is, to make good 

 whatever may be its deficiencies. Therefore pieces of a plant, 

 the smallest sprigs or cuttings, placed under proper condi- 

 tions, will make root for themselves and become complete 

 plants. We are not, however, to suppose that the same 

 treatment must be given to all cuttings. The circumstances 

 under which one family of plants would form roots would 

 cause another to die. One great stimulant to the growth of 

 roots is bottom heat; that is to say, the soil should be a 

 little warmer than the atmosphere. Another is the exclusion 

 of air from the leaves. Generally speaking, the wood of 

 one season's growth of all hard-wooded plants, with one 

 joint above the surface and one joint under the surface, 

 placed where there is bottom heat (that is, in a moderate 

 hotbed, or plunged in tan), covered over with a bell-glass 

 and kept moderately moist, will strike. Many plants, such 

 as Geraniums, Pansies, and other green or succulent subjects, 



