THE PROPAGATING BENCH 85 



from 6- to 8- or 10 in. in height, according to what you want it for, 

 is built over the bench and provided with a sash or large pane of 

 glass. Such a well-constructed propagating frame is the proper thing 

 for Ficus cuttings in pots, or the forcing of Valley. You can also use 

 it for pot plants. 



Just as almost everything in the way of cuttings needs a little 

 bottom heat during dark Winter weather the same is true of seeds; 

 if you want the greatest percentage of the seeds to germinate quickly, 

 apply bottom heat. But with most plants the minute they become 

 seedlings you want to move them according to their requirements 

 to either a cool- or a coldhouse. The return pipes of your hot water 

 system are a blessing for your Salvia seed flats, but leave these just 

 twenty-four hours under the dark bench after the plants are up, 

 and you ruin them for good. 



Next to bottom heat, cleanliness is the most important thing. 

 If the frame is constructed of wood, the oftener you change the sand 

 the better. Don't keep on propagating all Winter in the same sand. 

 Every time you root a batch of cuttings and remove them, no matter 

 how careful you are, particles of decayed foliage or pieces of root 

 will be left in the sand. These are likely, sooner or later, to cause 

 trouble in the way of fungus or disease. Remove the sand every so 

 often, wash the bench clean and apply a good dose of hot whitewash 

 after the boards are dry. 



HOTBEDS 



No greenhouse affords more ideal growing conditions tor most bedding 

 stock during Spring than a hotbed. With a warm footing and close 

 atmosphere, and near to the glass, everything seems to thrive and 

 flourish. No retail grower's establishment is complete without a good 

 number of sash-covered hotbeds. 



LJOTBEDS like coldframes are of great value to the florist and 

 ** while, each year, the problem of obtaining suitable material with 

 which to prepare a hotbed becomes more difficult to solve, those 

 who have a chance to secure manure or leaves should do so and make 

 use of hotbeds for growing a part of their stock. This is especially 

 to be recommended to those growing on large quantities of bedding 

 stock. , 



Usually, frames which have been used for the overwintering of 

 stock can, in early Spring, be made over into hotbeds. A layer of hot 

 manure about 12 in. in thickness tamped down well and covered with 

 3 or 4 in. of soil, provides an ideal place for almost anything in the 

 way of bedding stock, from the middle of April on. 



