154 BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS 



spread on a half-inch thickness of fresh, clean moss. Whether 

 covered with soil or not it is an excellent plan to place a square of 

 glass over the receptacle, and cover this with newspaper. This will 

 check evaporation, and lessen the necessity for frequent watering. 

 If the soil should become absolutely dry, water must be given, and 

 it may be poured through the moss by means of a rosed can. If 

 moss is not used the soil had better be moistened by immersion, 

 the receptacle being gently lowered into the water nearly up to the 

 brim, and kept there until water shows at the surface, then with- 

 drawn, and held over the tub until the superfluous water has ceased 

 to run out. These methods of watering prevent the washing out 

 of seeds and seedlings, which might easily happen if water was 

 poured on the top. While moisture must be given when really 

 necessary, restraint should be exercised so long as the soil is moist, 

 because a sodden condition is bad. When the seedlings show, moss, 

 glass, and paper should all be removed, as it is desirable that the 

 plants shall be kept sturdy by exposure to light and air. It is 

 from this stage that the greenhouse shelf will prove so valuable 

 for them. There need be no fear of the seedlings damping off if 

 this treatment is given. When they are about an inch high they 

 may be gently raised on the point of a label, and " pricked off" 

 three inches apart in other boxes. When they touch each other 

 in these boxes they will be large enough to be put singly into small 

 pots, and so fairly start on their career as established plants. Seed- 

 lings come quicker in bottom heat than without it, and consequently 

 it is a good plan to enclose a section of the hot-water piping with 

 slates ; fill it with cocoa-nut fibre refuse kept moist, and so make a 

 propagator of it. 



In striking cuttings, the question of bottom heat in a propa- 

 gator, and of a close, moist atmosphere, turn somewhat on the 

 character of the cutting. If it is of a thin, wiry, woody nature, 

 such conditions are favourable ; but if it is thick, soft, and fleshy, 

 they are not. The great majority of cuttings strike best when 



