THE GARDEN WEEK BY WEEK 



Jan. water has run back again. Air is essential, but cold 

 I~I5 draughts are bad. " Propagators " (close, heated boxes or 



pits) are very good for 

 starting plants, but are 

 not good for growing 

 them, because of the 

 want of air. Seedlings 

 raised in propagators 

 should be removed early, 

 and put on an airy stage 

 or shelf near the glass. 



Gloxinias from Seed. — 

 Like Begonias, these 

 beautiful plants have to 

 form tubers before they 

 can develop, and it is 

 therefore wise to sow a 

 packet of seed early in 

 January. They are among the most beautiful of all 

 small, low-growing plants for greenhouses and conser- 



Propagator. 



a. a. Hot-water pipes. 



b. Cocoa-nut fibre for plunging pots 

 containing cuttings (c) in. 

 This kind of propagator can be used 

 separately with a lighted lamp under 

 it, when the propagator rests on a 

 vessel of water. 



Fig. 4.— Starting Gloxinia Tubers. 



a. Soil in a box. 



b. Tubers partially buried in the soil. 



c. A tuber starting to grow. 



vatories, and when once a stock of tubers has been 

 secured, a succession of bloom can be had by the simple 

 device of starting the tubers in batches. 

 24 



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