172 Greenhouse management. 



With the exception of the red spider, as mentioned 

 above, the only other really troublesome insect enemy 

 is the thrip, but with a proper amount of moisture, air 

 and light, neither of them is particularly to be feared. 



RUBBER TREES. 



For decorating purposes, or as a house plant, the 

 rubber tree has few equals, owing to its ability to with- 

 stand rough usage and neglect. The plants are gener- 

 ally propagated from single eye cuttings, and in this way 

 they are multiplied quite rapidly. The plants are 

 topped about the first of January and the tips are placed 

 in the cutting bed. To succeed well in growing plants 

 by this method, large, plump buds are desirable and the 

 wood should be quite firm. If the plants are started 

 into growth as they should be, the buds upon the stem 

 towards the upper end will swell, and the stems can now 

 be cut up and a cutting made from every portion that 

 contains a bud. If the wood is hard, they will strike 

 quicker if every cutting has a portion of bark removed 

 from one side at the base of the bud, or cuttings can be 

 made by splitting off from the stem the buds with bits 

 of wood two inches long and one-fourth inch thick. 

 The cuttings need a strong bottom heat, and if they can 

 be in a propagating case, all the better. Some growers 

 place the cuttings in pots filled with leaf mold and sand 

 and plunge them into the cutting bed. When grown in 

 this way, the lower leaves are generally quite small and, 

 as they are inclined to drop from the stems, the cuttings 

 are likely to make spindling plants. 



A better, bat a slower and more expensive, method 

 of propagating the plants is by top-layering. For this, 

 a plant from six to twelve months old, with short- 

 jointed, thick stems, should be selected, and one that has 

 lost its lower leaves is as good as any. To induce them 

 to throw out roots, the stem should be cut or pierced, 



