Propagating and Shipping Young Stock 



from the sand any surplus moisture and in turn return moisture to the sand 

 whenever it becomes drier than the brick. 



This brick or terra cotta bottom should be from two and a half to four 

 inches thick. When once warmed up this bottom gives off its heat con- 

 stantly and evenly, and also acts as a shield against the intense heat from 

 the heating pipes, preventing the baking or drying out of the sand from 

 beneath. The heating pipes should be some distance from the bottom of 



Brick Bottomed Propagating' Bench 



the bench ; not nearer than eighteen inches at any point. While bottom heat 

 is desirable, it should be generally and evenly diffused over the entire bot- 

 tom of the benches, and it should not be allowed to become intense at any 

 point. A very even bottom heat may be secured by tacking a curtain of 

 light protecting cloth around the sides of the benches, allowing it to hang 

 down to within two or three inches of the ground. This protecting cloth 

 will keep the atmosphere under the benches a few degrees warmer than the 

 air of the greenhouse, while at the same time it permits of the gradual diffu- 

 sion of heat into the atmosphere above the benches, and tends to keep an 



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