GREENHOUSE AND WINDOW.- 



The Greenhouse. — Successive batches of 

 cuttings can be placed in sand on the pro. 

 pag'ating' bench, or in boxes or pots as 

 required. These should be shaded on hot, 

 sunny days. Those that have already rooted 

 should be potted into light sandy soil, in 

 small pots. Over-potting cuttings into large 



\'.. 





Fig. 2006. 



pots is a mistake that is often made by 

 amateur plant-growers. An excess of soil 

 often induces an excess of water around the 

 roots that generally proves disastrous to the 

 well-doing of newly rooted plants. Excess- 

 ive drought at the roots of cuttings is quite 

 as hurtful as an excess of water. To avoid 



the small pots from drying out too rapidly, 

 or requiring very close attention in watering 

 them, the pots can be plunged nearly to the 

 rim in sand until the plants have commenced 

 to root into the soil well. This plunging 

 prevents rapid evaporation and keeps the 

 soil in a moist condition as well as necessi- 

 sitating less attention in the way of 

 watering. 



Cuttings of coleus, achyranthes, alternan- 

 theras and all bedding plants should be 

 commenced on this month. Put in plenty 

 of cuttings of plants suitable for hanging 

 baskets, window boxes, etc.; there is sel- 

 dom too many of these either in number or 

 variety when the time comes for using them. 

 Seeds of pyrethrum (golden feather), and 

 centaurea candidissima and C. maritimis maj' 

 be sown now, both of these are useful as 

 edging plants for flower beds or borders, 

 the last named variety being very pretty 

 when used in window boxes, its silvery- 

 white foliage making it very effective 

 and pretty contrasts when planted near 

 other plants of a deeper shade of coloring. 

 Both of these varieties can be propagated 

 from cuttings. 



Seeds of verbenas and petunias can be 

 sown now so as to secure good plants by 

 bedding-out time. It is too early for sowing 

 annual and biennial flower seeds, March or 

 April being early enough for these. Flower 

 seeds of almost every variety succeed better 

 sown in shallow boxes about i )4 inches 

 deep. These can be filled with soil and 

 divided into the necessary sized sections 

 with thin pieces of shingle pressed into the 

 soil slightly, making the boxes look like 

 miniature fields or garden when the seeds 

 are growing. Boxes take less room and 

 give better results as a rule than pots. If 

 these latter or seed pans are used, sinking 

 them about two-thirds down into sand will 



