62 MARKET NURSERY WORK 



stinted regime. The roots will run a considerable distance in search 

 of moisture and food, but it is not that entirely which we value. 

 What we recognise is that the deeply dug soil remains moist and 

 cool at flowering time, when too often the shallow and ill-prepared 

 soil of most beds burns and dries, and is practically rendered sterile 

 by the heat of the sun. Under these latter conditions we saw 

 thousands of plants in the early days of the drought of this year 1921 

 on which every bloom had given up within two days of opening, 

 while others in well-prepared soil held out for a fortnight. Neither 

 pinks nor carnations can thrive under excessive heat if further 



FIG. 18. How to take a Piping 



aggravated by aridity. There are other dianthus, of the Alpine type, 

 which can be made to do so, but even these, when removed to more 

 genial quarters and conditions, will quickly voice their appreciation. 

 The garden pink lends itself to easy and plentiful propagation, 

 for it is most profuse in producing the growths from which the 

 cuttings are made. We have often taken not less than fifty from a 

 plant two years old. In Vol. I of this work we described in detail 

 how to take pipings or cuttings, and what to do with them ; there 

 is, therefore, no need for us to recapitulate. It is the quickest and 

 most convenient method of propagation for the nurseryman, for 

 it produces well-rooted and well-shaped plants in about two months. 

 Many, however, prefer to take " slips " either in early spring or 



