CHAPTER XI. 

 PROPAGATION. 



From what has been said of the favoring conditions in 

 California for open air work and freedom from low tem- 

 peratures, it may be rightly inferred that the higher arts 

 of propagation involving the use of acres of glass and the 

 most approved heating devices, are not to be found in 

 California. The forcing of vegetables which is now com- 

 manding such wide effort and investment at the East is 

 only undertaken to a limited extent and although it is in- 

 creasing with our advance in population and wealth, it 

 will always be menaced by the open air work, both in av- 

 erage situations and in frostless localities which are, at 

 present, only worked up to a fraction of their capacity. 

 Forcing is, however, accomplished with much less expen- 

 sive structures and heating arrangements than at the East, 

 because only slight drops in temperature are to be over- 

 come. We have also a decided advantage in the large per- 

 centage of winter sunshine. Forcing is, therefore, rela- 

 tively cheaper than in wintry regions and there may be, 

 ere long, an important industry. Of course the same gen- 

 eral conditions which favor forcing with us also makes 

 elaborate and expensive arrangements for growing plants 

 for subsequent planting out, unnecessary. Not only do 

 hot-beds of the scantiest construction and covering answer 

 local purposes, but even their heating materials have to be 

 toned down by more slowly fermenting intermixtures and 

 by freer entrance of air, lest the growths be over-forced. 

 Often, as will be described presently, a little bottom heat, 

 without close covering above, is all that conditions require 

 to bring forward and protect tender seedlings until it is 

 safe for them to take their chances under kind skies. 



