160 



PROPAGATION OF PLANTS. 



when placed in a confined, moist, and rather warm 

 atmosphere. When grown in frames in the open ground, 

 the cuttings will need to be shaded the same as when 

 planted in the house, and this maybe given by using lath 

 screens, as shown in figure 54, or the glass maybe dimmed 

 by applying with a brush a wash made of skim milk with 

 common whiting. The cuttings in frames will need at- 

 tention when growing, for water must be regularly sup- 

 plied, and airjidmitted occasionally to prevent the tem- 

 perature from reaching too high a point during wjirm, 

 bright days. Common white muslin, made water-proof, 

 or coated with boiled linseed oil and well dried before 



Fig. 55. HAND GLASS. 



Fig 56. BELL GLASS. 



using, may be employed for covering the frames in which 

 cuttings are rooted during the summer months, but glass 

 is preferable, and as it is so much more durable, it is in 

 the end the cheapest. 



What are called hand glasses (figure ,55), and bell 

 glasses (figure V 56), may often be employed with advan- 

 tage, wjiere onjy a fqw cuttjugs are to be raised, either in 

 the open ground or in an ordinary greenhouse. These 

 glasses are also useful in covering delicate seeds and the 

 spores of ferns, which, owing to their minute size and 

 fragile structure, cannot safely be buried in ordinary soil. 



IN WHAT MATERIALS TO PLANT CUTTINGS. Various 

 kinds of materials have been recommended, and are still 



