CUTTINGS 67 



Robert Shore, gardener in the Cornell University Department 

 of Botany, has devised a sash-covered frame which is maintained 

 at a relatively high temperature by boarding up the heating pipes. 

 A pan of water sets upon the pipes and tends to equalize the tem- 

 perature. The bottom of the frame is provided with a number of 

 holes to allow for the free passage of the heat upward. A layer of 

 three or four inches of sphagnum moss over the holes serves to 

 retain the moisture. 



Many plants, such as Crotons, Dracaenas, Nepenthes and other 

 tropical plants, are readily propagated in such a frame. Mr. Shore 

 propagates these plants successfully by placing the end of the cutting 

 through the drainage hole of an inverted empty flower pot placed 

 upon the moss. The roots start in the moisture-laden air inside the 

 empty pot. 



DARLINGTON'S PROPAGATING FLATS 



H. D. Darlington in THE FLORISTS' EXCHANGE of April 22, 1919, 

 described a simple propagating box which will be found useful for 

 rooting cuttings of many sorts of greenhouse stock: 



"Take ordinary flats those from the tin factories, 10 inch by 20 

 inch by 3 inch deep are just right whitewash inside and after they 

 are dry put into each one inch of clean cinders or broken pot covered 

 with salt hay; or, if you are not near the coast, straw or litter will do; 

 this material is a great help with regard to drainage, as it keeps the 

 sand from working into the cinders. Fill the flat with sand, of which 

 you will have a depth of about \Y% inches. See that the sand is 

 clean and sharp. 



"Now cut glass six inches wide and in lengths so that it will go 

 around the box. With a broad putty knife open a slot around the 

 edge of the box, set up the glass, pound the sand firm, and you will 

 have a glass lined box with the glass standing about three inches 

 above the sand. A 12-inch by 24-inch light of glass will cover this 

 nicely. I have found this better than the old fashioned bell glass, 

 for, as the glass in the flat never fits perfectly tight, you get enough 

 air, and there is less danger of damping off; at the same time this 

 arrangement answers all the purposes of the bell glass. Another 

 advantage is that the 10-inch by 12-inch boxes may be set one right 

 next to the other, so that no room is lost. 



"A north side propagating house is the ideal, but any good, light 

 side bench will answer. It is better not to shade the house over the 

 cuttings, but take muslin the width of the bench in 10 feet or 12 feet 

 lengths and tack a lath at each end; this arrangement can be quickly 



