VENTILATION AND FEEDING 53 



is readily absorbed in the atmosphere. The damping of 

 paths and other surfaces is discontinued entirely during 

 winter. 



Need for Ventilation. Abundant air must be ad- 

 mitted to the structure at all times. Plants which are 

 grown in a close, badly-ventilated house, never produce 

 flowers of the best size or colour, but their health is 

 impaired and their energies weakened. In cold or wet 

 weather in winter, it is desirable to employ just enough 

 fire-heat to warm the water-pipes ; but, unless there is 

 severe frost, the ventilators should never be closed. In 

 this, as in every other detail, the cultivator must exercise 

 his judgment, as it would be harmful to open the venti- 

 lators facing to the east when the wind is blowing from 

 that quarter. In a word, and I hope I may be under- 

 stood, adequate ventilation is absolutely necessary to pro- 

 duce the best results. 



Feeding the Plants. So long as the plants are in 

 6-inch pots, there is no need to apply any stimulant, as 

 they are still young, and their energies are not taxed 

 by the production of flowers. But after they have been 

 potted into the larger-sized pots, and they have to sus- 

 tain a quantity of foliage and flowers, occasional dress- 

 ings of this nature are necessary. The stimulants should 

 be applied in a liquid or other form, in small quantities. 

 Moderate applications, given more or less frequently, are 

 safer and better than excessive quantities. Carnations 

 must be treated with far greater care in this respect than 

 such a gross-feeding plant, for example, as the Chrysan- 

 themum. I usually apply a top-dressing in February, 

 just as the plants are commencing to grow, and another 



