8 MARKET NURSERY WORK 



there are any dry places, for though too much moisture is un- 

 doubtedly injurious, actual dryness is even more so. 



Throughout this period the bottom heat should be maintained 

 at about 60 degrees, but this must be considered as the maximum, 

 for the carnation, being indeed a hardy plant, is not patient of heat, 

 and even at this, the earliest, stage of its existence resents excessive 

 warmth. In fact, as soon as rooting is known to have begun 

 which should be 18 to 20 days after insertion the temperature 

 must be modified by the freer admission of air and by the actual 

 removal of the lights for one hour daily. It should never be thought 

 of as a hot-house plant, for it most emphatically is not, and every 

 succeeding stage of its growth should bring it a step nearer to those 

 hardy conditions which are natural to it. 



