92 THE NURSERY-MANUAL 



quickly. It should not "bake" or form a crust on its sur- 

 face. As a rule, especially for cuttings made of growing 

 parts, the soil should not contain fresh vegetable matter, as 

 such material holds too much water and is often apparently 

 injurious to the cutting, and it is likely to breed the fungi of 

 damping-off. 



FIG. 97. Pit or storage house for hardy cuttings and seed boxes. 



A coarse, sharp, clean sand is the best material for indoor 

 use. Very fine sand packs too hard, and should rarely be em- 

 ployed. Some propagators prefer to use fine gravel, com- 

 posed of particles an eighth to a fourth of an inch in diameter, 

 and from which all fine material has been washed. This 

 answers well for green cuttings; but a propagating-frame 

 should be used to check evaporation, and attention be given 

 to watering, because drainage is perfect and the material quickly 



