18 SEEDS AND SEEDLINGS. 



39. Hints on Pitting- up Apparatus. As you will be con- 

 stantly called upon during the course to accurately fit flasks, etc. , with 

 corks bored with one or more holes, and bend glass tubing to various 

 angles, you had better master these simple operations at once. 



(a) Pit a Plask of Medium Size with a Cork. Select a cork a 

 little too large ; wrap it in a piece of paper and, using gentle pressure 

 with your foot, roll it to and fro upon the ground. This softens the 

 cork, and the risk of breaking the neck of the flask is lessened. If still 

 too large, file down the cork equally all round. 



(6) Bore a Cork Lengthwise and Fit a Glass Tube tightly 

 into the Hole made. Select a cork-borer (Fig. 8) slightly less in 

 diameter than that of the tube to be fitted into the cork. The cork- 

 borer is a brass tube about 5 ins. long sharpened at one end. At 

 the other are two small holes opposite each other ; through these 

 the accompanying iron rod may be thrust to serve as a handle. 

 The borers are generally put up in sets of three or more. Place the 

 cork against the edge of your bench, as shown in Fig. 7. Press the 

 borer gently into the narrower end of the cork and work it alternately 

 round to right and left. The borer must be sharp to make a clean 

 cut, and the tube must fit tightly. 



Fig. 7. 



Now take the cork prepared in (a) and bore two parallel holes in 

 it similar in position to those in the wash-bottle (Fig. 11). 



(c) Cut some Glass Tubingf about | in. in Diameter into 

 Lengths 4 to 6 inches. Lay the tube flat on the bench and with a 

 sharp triangular file make a scratch across it where required, the 

 pressure used being regulated by the thickness of the tube. Now 

 hold the tube in both hands, with the scratch away from the body and 

 the tips of the thumbs touching each other just opposite the scratch. 

 Break the tube by bending it, giving a pull at the same time. Round 

 off the sharp ends by fusing them in the Bunsen flame. 



(d) Bend some pieces of Glass Tubing to form Right 

 Angles. Use an ordinary spreading gas flame lowered until it is 

 about 2 ins. across. Place the tube over the flame for a few seconds, 

 and gradually bring it down into the hottest part, as shown in Fig. 9. 

 Turn the tube round and round till it softens, then allow one end 



