8 THE CHRYSANTHEMUM 



singly in small pots. These should be filled with 

 light sandy soil, and the surface of the soil covered 

 with sand, inserting one cutting in each pot. A small 

 frame or some hand glasses should be available to 

 cover them till rooted, the general treatment being 

 the same. The cuttings in the sand bed should be 

 rooted and in a condition for potting in from two to 

 three weeks. They will soon show their readiness by 

 their sturdy look and disposition to commence growing, 

 and should be taken in hand immediately. 



It is a great mistake to leave them standing in 

 the sand till they have made two or three inches of 

 growth, for there is no nutriment in the sand, the 

 growth so made is naturally weak,* and the check 

 experienced when they are potted is a severe one, with 

 resultant loss of valuable time before the young plants 

 recover and get established in the soil. The roots, 

 too, get long and straggling and are greatly injured 

 in the removal. When the roots have attained about 

 an inch in length is the best time to pot the young 

 plants. Fig. 3 shows a rooted cutting in just the right 

 condition for potting so that it will take to the soil 

 and grow on without serious check or loss of time. 



TREATMENT OF YOUNG PLANTS 



When the rooted cuttings are taken from the prop- 

 agating bed they should be potted singly in small 

 pots, or if a very large number are being grown it 

 may be found more convenient to plant them in small 

 boxes or "flats." From now onward applied skill 

 counts. If the plants are started rightly in their 

 initial stage the future will be one of continuous 

 progression. The compost or soil into which they are 

 to be potted is the first and most important considera- 

 tion. It should be light, open, sweet and conducive 

 to free rooting, with a resultant sturdy, short-jointed 



