POTTING 



59 



it must be properly done to get good results. Many 

 losses of potted plants are due solely to carelessness. 

 The potting soil must be neither too dry nor too wet, 

 just the condition that when squeezed firmly in the hand 

 it leaves the impress of the fingers and shows several lit- 

 tle cracks in it, but does not break down (too dry) nor 

 remain as a gob of mud (too wet). 



The plants must be set at just the right depth (Fig. 

 48), otherwise they will fail. Seedlings and cuttings 

 must not be placed in pots too large for them. The 

 almost universal size to start with is two-inch, though 

 many ferns and other little plants are set at first in 

 "thumb" pots, a still smaller size. The roots of cuttings 

 must neither be too large nor too small, because in the 



Fig. 49 SHUTTERS FOR COVERING HOTBEDS AND COLD FRAMES 



Notice positions of the cleats. This arrangement favors easy piling and good 

 ventilation for drying. 



first case there would be breakage, in the latter refusal to 

 grow ; one-eighth to one-fourth inch is about the usual 

 length for speedy work. 



Always a two-inch pot should have a vacant space one- 

 fourth to one-third inch deep at the top for water. The 

 pots, when placed on the greenhouse bench, must be set level 

 so as to avoid loss of water over the edge. At first the plants 

 need shade. Lath shutters (Fig. 49), in general use, 

 are placed on inverted pots large enough to raise them 

 above the plants. In hot, sunny weather, newspaper or 

 cheesecloth is used for additional shade for three days 

 to a week at first, being placed early and removed late 

 in the clay, but gradually shortening the time shaded. 



