SOIL DRAINAGE PRINCIPLES 111 



In Chrysanthemum or Carnation benches, it is always a safe 

 plan to examine the condition of the soil once in awhile. Instead 

 of applying water all over the bench just because one spot is dry, 

 find out first, in what condition the rest of it is, and water only 

 such spots as dry out faster than the others. Find out the cause, 

 it is most likely a lack of proper drainage. 



Yes, you can also have too much drainage. By not pressing the 

 soil down firmly along the edges you may let a bench filled with 

 rather heavy soil dry out to such an extent as to create cracks. 

 Any water you apply will then run through these cracks or down 

 the inside of the bench without doing much good. But there are 

 many more times when we lack proper drainage for the promotion 

 of healthy plant growth and good crops, both indoors and out. 



SEED SOWING 



VV/'E will take this subject up quite fully in Part II under 

 Petunias, a class of plants in which not only is the seed ex- 

 pensive (if you want the best) but in which the most delicate of the 

 seedlings often have the largest and best flowers. 



When sowing any seed, it is always well to take into considera- 

 tion their size. This usually will indicate how deeply they should 

 be covered, or, in the case of very small seed, whether covering is 

 needed at all. Sometimes far better results can be obtained merely 

 by gently pressing the seeds into a finely sifted surface and covering 

 the pan or flat with shaded glass to keep the soil moist until 

 germination sets in. There is much seed wasted as the result of 

 careless handling, for which there really is no good excuse ; and with 

 seeds we sow under glass more trouble is due to too heavy covering 

 than to anything else. 



THE ART OF POTTING 



'"THE main thing about potting is to do it quickly. At least, 

 ^ that holds good when many thousands of small plants are to be 

 shifted into larger pots or potted up from the cutting bench. If there 

 is ever any chance of becoming efficient through actual practice, it is in 

 potting. No matter how carefully you show the beginner what to 

 do, how to hold the plant, how to put the soil around it and do the 

 potting, only actual experience can ever make him an efficient 

 potter. If he is a young man and does enough of it, it may not be 

 long before he will out-pot you and do it better. The writer has 

 had that happen. 



I am sure there isn't nearly as much fuss made today about 

 potting as there was years ago; yet just as good and even better 

 Cyclamens are being produced at present and, after all, it is results 



