REARING OF STOCKS 67 



permits. The process of hardening off is easily managed 

 under these conditions, the plants grow sturdily and are 

 excellent material for planting out at the end of May or in 

 early June. When Annuals are grown in this fashion it is a 

 good plan to cut through the soil in the beds between the 

 rows of plants, with an edging iron or a large knife, a week 

 or so before planting time, as this reduces the check of re- 

 moval to a minimum. 



In the small seedling stage Stocks are very liable to damp 

 off with surprising suddenness. To prevent this trouble thin 

 sowing must be practised, and the seed bed must be composed 

 of light and well drained soil. Further, when the seedlings are 

 pricked off they must not be placed too low in the new soil or 

 there will be trouble. Seedlings crowded in the seed bed 

 become attenuated and weakly, and so there is a tendency to 

 place them low in the soil when first transferring them so as to 

 counteract this spindliness ; the result is failure. The thinly 

 sown, sturdy seedlings should be transplanted so that after 

 being watered the ground line of the settled soil is just below 

 the seed-leaves. If the seed-leaves are wholly or partly buried 

 damping is sure to be troublesome. 



In general terms this advice applies also to the other kinds 

 of Stocks. The Intermediate and East Lothian Stocks may 

 receive similar treatment and they will flower well in the 

 Autumn, but if they are required to flower in the spring time 

 then they must be sown in June or July, in a frame, given 

 open-air treatment until September, when the plants must be 

 potted into 60-sized pots and wintered in a cold frame. 

 Frost must be excluded, but every advantage taken of fine 

 weather to ventilate freely. Plunging the pots in ashes is 

 good practice. Plant out immediately all danger from frost 

 is over in the Spring. The Brompton Stocks need similar 

 management to that here detailed for the East Lothians when 

 the latter are needed for early flowering the succeeding 

 year. 



