146 AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



Bmnll stake? to keep tliem permaucnt. We tlien take a section of the common 

 sized hot-bed sash and lay it over the phmts lengthwise. At the same time 

 bank some fresh manure up against tlie boards outside to keep the phvnts 

 warm, and avoid exposure to the cold air, using matting to cover the sashea 

 ■when required in bad Aveather, as is practiced on hot-beds. As the season 

 becomes advanced in April, attention is required in giving air to the plants 

 by raising the sash a little through the day and closing it again at night, not 

 forgetting to water the plants, and covering A\ith the mats when required as 

 protection in cold nights. This mode of practice docs not affect the plant un- 

 favorably for subsequent bearing. They have only fruited a little earlier. 



If we wish to force plants earlier we must at the proper time — ^. e., when the 

 sets are forming on the runners — procure small flower-pots, fill them with good 

 mould similar to that around the plants, and sink them just under where the 

 set is about to take root, so as to be level with the ground, Lay a bit of clod 

 over the vine to keep it in place until it takes root in the pot, and when the 

 next set has rooted, separate the first one, and so on, progressively, as stated 

 under the head of propagation. When the plants have become well estab- 

 lished in the little pots, they are, with the ball of dirt attached, changed into 

 a size larger, adding mould, at the same time, to fill up the pot. The pots 

 should now be placed in a position partly shaded from the sun, and kept well 

 watered. As soon as the roots are about to reach the side of the pot, the plant 

 must be changed into a larger pot. This last should have a drain in the bot- 

 tom, made of broken shells or small pebbles, to the depth of half an inch ; and 

 when the jjlant is introduced the pot should be filled up with compost made 

 of two parts garden mould, one part leaf mould, and one part sand and pulver- 

 ized charcoal mixed. By the time the plant has gained size and strength iu 

 this pot, it can be taken in the house and placed on a platform, in a position 

 "where it can receive the most light and air, not omitting to give the pots a 

 plentiful supply of water when required. 



Another way by which a number of plants can be forwarded in one pot, is as 

 follows : Take a twelve-inch earthen flower-pot, and, after depositing a drain 

 in the bottom, as above mentioned, fill it with a compost, as before described. 

 Then get a smaller flower-pot, say three inches in diameter, stop the hole in 

 the bottom w^ith a cork, and take out as much of the mould from the centre of 

 the large pot as will admit the small one, even Avith the top of the dirt, in the 

 larger pot. Thus we have a margin of dirt between the two pots nearly four 

 inches in width. When the young sets have formed roots in the summer, they 

 are taken up by a garden trowel, with the earth attached and planted around, 

 at equal distances, in this margin of soil, there to remain in some half-shaded 

 place until fall. Meanwhile the watering must be applied through the small 

 pot in the centre. By keeping it full the fluid percolates through the sides and 

 bottom in sufficient propoitions to keep the plants in a regular, healthy condi- 

 tion ; and when taken in the house, it should be placed on a platform where it 

 will receive air and light. When in full bearing it presents a beautiful 

 appearance. 



Tills principle of forcing plants is suggestive of many variations. For ex- 

 ample, we may have a box, tastefully made and painted, any size to suit the 

 desired number of plants, planting and watering the same, as previously 

 dcsciibed. 



If it is desired to have plants in single pots, the principle of watering may 

 be reversed by filling a little larger pot than the one containing the plant with 

 sand, first stopping the hole in the bottom with a cork. Take from the centre 

 enough to let the pot with the plant down nearly even with the top. The 

 plant receives the water through the sand between the pots. 



The latter mode Avas suggested to me some years since by Peter B. Mead, 

 the distinguished editor of the Horticulturist, for the purpose of propagating 



