158 GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT. 



bright days syringing will be helpful. After the first 

 crop is off, an application of manure may be made to the 

 surface of the bed, or reliance may be had on liquid 

 manure. 



"While the principal call for smilax is at Christmas 

 and Easter, it is needed at all times during the year, 

 and a supply should always be kept on hand. Many 

 growers throw out their smilax beds at the end of each 

 year, but unless they have been unduly forced, good 

 results can be obtained from them for several years. If 

 to be retained, they should be dried off and kept dor- 

 mant for two or three months in the summer, and before 

 they are brought into growth again the surface soil 

 should be removed and replaced with a rich compost. 

 If dried off in the early spring, a bench can be erectec 

 over the bed for bedding or other plants. 



Smilax, to be well grown, should have a night tem- 

 perature of 60 degrees, with the usual increase during 

 the day. As with ferns, after the growth has been 

 made, if it is hardened by gradually increasing the 

 amount of ventilation, smilax will keep longer after it is 

 cut. Under the best conditions, a crop can be secured 

 by November, and two others can be taken off during 

 the season, but, as a rule, two crops are all that can 

 be cut. 



ASPARAGUS. 



This valuable climber was slow m coming into favor 

 with the public, partly because it was by many associa- 

 ted with the vegetable of the same name, but it now 

 seems to have come to stay. In a general way, its culti- 

 vation is about the same as has been given for smilax, 

 from which it differs principally in its method of propa- 

 gation. Asparagus is best propagated from cuttings of 

 the young sterns. If made in May and rooted under a 

 hand glass, or in a propagating case, they will be strong 



