GREENHOUSE AND HOTHOUSE FLOWERS 153 



dry, before use. The hole in the bottom should be covered with 

 a few pieces of broken pot, arranged so as to overlap each other, 

 and these again with a little moss or leaf-mould, in order to prevent 

 the soil from clogging it, and preventing the egress of water. 



Whether for propagating, or for potting rooted plants, the soil 

 should always be pressed firmly into the pots. It need not be 

 made so hard (except in the final potting of Chrysanthemums) that 

 a finger cannot be forced into it, but it should certainly not be left 

 in a loose, spongy state. Generally speaking, a plant requires a 

 shift to a larger pot when its roots begin to coil round the interior, 

 and to protrude at the bottom. In case of doubt no possible harm 

 can be done by shaking a plant out of its pot for examination, 

 provided the soil is moist ; if dry, it might fall away and leave the 

 roots bare. The way to perform this little operation is to spread 

 the fingers of one hand over the surface of the soil, letting the stem 

 of the plant pass between them, turn the plant upside down, and tap 

 the rim of the pot steadily on some firm, fixed object until the pot 

 has loosened, and then to lift it off with the other hand. If there 

 is no larger pot available for a plant which has coiled its roots, two 

 inches of the top soil, and some of the side mould, may be broken 

 off, and fresh rammed in to take its place. This is called "top- 

 dressing." 



Sowing Seeds and Striking Cuttings^ The method of propaga- 

 tion of each particular plant to be dealt with in the notes which are 

 to follow will be mentioned in the references to it, but to save the 

 repetition of details a little attention may be devoted to them now. 

 In raising those glass-house plants which are propagated by means 

 of seed it will generally be found good practice to sow thinly in a 

 pan (a wide, shallow form of pot) or a shallow box, making the soil 

 very fine on the surface, and covering lightly. In the case of the 

 smallest seeds, such as Begonias and Gloxinias, it is advisable 

 not to attempt to cover them with soil at all, but to sprinkle them 

 very lightly and thinly over a surface of moist silver sand, and then 



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