58 GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 



crop. Their success has induced a very great interest in 

 the matter. 



During the early part of the season, the flowers are 

 grown either singly on the plants or as "sprays," but 

 later on the plants are trained to a single stem with one 

 flower at the top. The cuttings for early flowers should 

 be struck as soon as the first of April, and other batches 

 should follow at intervals up to the first of July, when 

 the cuttings for the single stem plants can be struck. 

 The best cuttings are obtained from shoots that are firm 

 and that have short internodes. Slender and wiry shoots, 

 and also the weak and watery ones, should be avoided. 

 The cuttings should not be over three and a half inches 

 long, with the leaves on the lower half removed and the 

 others reduced one-half in size. They may be rooted in 

 small pots, pans or boxes, although if many are grown a 

 cutting bed is desirable. The cuttings are inserted about 

 half their length, in rows two inches apart, and about 

 one inch in the rows. While bottom heat Avill hasten 

 their rooting, it is not necessary, and good results will 

 be obtained if placed near the glass, at a temperature of 

 fifty degrees, even without bottom heat. If particularly 

 fine plants with large blooms are desired for exhibition 

 purposes, the cuttings should be placed singly in small 

 pots containing a mixture of sand and compost at the 

 bottom, and sand at the top. 



When the roots are half an inch long they should 

 be potted, as they will be less likely to wilt than if the 

 roots have become longer and are broken in potting. 

 Place in two and one-half-inch pots, using a compost of 

 rotten sods, loam and sand. Keep at fifty to fifty-five 

 degrees, and from this time never allow the plants to 

 suffer for lack of water, food, air, or room. When the 

 roots show through the soil, repot into the three and one- 

 half-inch size, using a little richer compost, and when 

 the roots have filled the pots, have the beds or benches 



