Calendar of Operations for All Classes. 165 
85 deg. The pans may be plunged in the bed later 
on if the seedlings are tardy in making their ap- 
pearance. Remove them to a cooler place as soon 
as they are well up. 
Show Carnations and Picotees. 
An effort should be made to complete the work of 
final potting if this had not been accomplished in 
February. The compost by this time should be in 
suitable condition if placed under cover in January 
and frequently turned since then, after mixing the 
various ingredients. Crushed oyster shells or mortar 
rubble are not merely good opening materials but 
supply a valuable element of plant food beliked of 
Ca:nations. Drain the pots well and press che com- 
pest firmly. Some knowledge of the habit of each 
veriety is of great assistance to the grower when 
selecting pots of suitable size for it. This comes of 
experience. Get ready a bed of clean ashes outside, 
on which to stand the plants as soon as weather 
and the condition of the plants will permit. In the 
absence of ashes, strips of wood to keep the pots off 
the ground may be employed. Shelter from cutting 
east winds 1s still desirable. 
Tree Carnations. 
A third batch of cuttings may be taken during 
this month and rooted in the usual way in pots 
plunged in the tan or cocoanut bed of the forcing or 
propagating pit, where they can still get the benefit 
of bottom heat. In some establishments it is cus- 
tomary to make up a bed of sand in some warm 
house over the hot-water pipes for the purpose of 
propagating summer bedding plants. Carnations 
may be inserted in the sand, and the moisture 
economised by panes of glass supported on pegs. 
A hot-bed of fermenting manure for raising seed- 
lings is often made in private establishments. Car- 
nations may be inserted in pots as usual and the 
latter plunged in the soil covering the bed. The 
moisture here is often great and causes many cut- 
tings to damp, unless care is taken to let the 
moisture escape for some time each day. 
Make a point of potting up all cuttings as soon 
as they are rooted. The earliest potted young 
plants will require another shift towards the end 
of the month, using pots according to their size and 
vigour. Pot firmly at each stage, and make a point 
