CHAPTER VII 



Treatment of Young Carnation Stock Preparatory to 



Planting Out 



As soon as the cuttings have become well furnished with young rootlets, 

 ranging from a quarter to half an inch in length, they are ready to 

 be transferred to small pots (two to two-and-a-quarter-inch) or 

 planted out in flats, and to enter upon their second period of growth. 

 The preparation of the soil to be used in this stage of growing the 

 young plants is fully described in Chapter IV. Such soil should be kept 

 always on hand where it will not be exposed to heavy rainstorms and 

 its fertility lost by leaching. When prepared for potting, the soil should 

 be in a slightly moist condition ; that is, it should feel smooth and com- 

 fortable to the hand and break up easily when rolled into a ball and 

 pressed or crushed. The degree of moisture should not be such as to 

 cause the ball to be permanently hardened by the operation of potting, 

 but there should be sufficient so that the soil can be properly firmed. 

 Two-inch pots for moderate growing varieties, and two-and-a-quarter-inch 

 for the larger, stronger growing sorts, are the proper sizes to use. Smaller 

 pots are disadvantageous, as they dry out rapidly and require frequent 

 watering, while larger, pots are objectionable because of the amount of 

 bench room they occupy, as well as the danger of over-watering. If a 

 deep pot is used, such as a rose pot, it is preferred by many and may be 

 beneficial where light soil is employed for potting. 



The operation of potting is very simple ; nevertheless, it requires atten- 

 tion, care and a close observation of detail, in order that it may be done with 

 rapidity and correctly. The soil, having been thoroughly broken up, and 

 the larger lumps and clods reduced so that the mass is of an even texture 

 throughout, is placed upon the potting bench in a heap in front of the oper- 

 ator. The workman takes the pot in his left hand, filling the pot about two- 

 thirds to three-quarters full of soil. The cutting is then taken in the right 

 hand, the roots being placed in the pot and shaken so as to be spread out in 

 a natural manner. More soil is then placed upon the top of the roots until 



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