HOW PLANTS ARE INCREASED 



the treatment of cuttings and the best way to facilitate 

 their rooting is to exclude air ; in other words, to cover 

 them with glass. How remarkably the absence of such 

 a covering affects them may easily be proved by anyone. 

 Take a few Pansy or Viola cuttings and put them in a 

 prepared bed of soil on a shaded border out of doors. 

 If given no further attention beyond keeping the soil 

 moist they will droop for days, and may or may not revive 

 to form roots, but place a bell-glass or cloche over them, 

 and in a few hours they are perfectly fresh and stand 

 upright, for evaporation is arrested. This is, however, 

 not the only precaution that is necessary. When cuttings 

 are inserted in flower-pots, under a bell-glass or in a 

 frame, the soil should be prepared a day beforehand, 

 and some hours before the cuttings are inserted it should 

 be moistened. 



Losses in attempting to " strike " cuttings occur chiefly 

 through " damping off " ; moisture settles at the base 

 of the cutting, decay soon sets in and it collapses. The 

 necessity for watering the cuttings before they are rooted 

 is to a large extent obviated by inserting them in moist 

 though not wet soil, and by syringing the foliage fre- 

 quently and lightly. The value of the little bed of sand 

 at the foot of the cutting will then be realised, for moisture 

 drains through it readily, and the vital part of the cutting 

 remains comparatively dry. Shade from sunshine should 

 always be afforded, since sun heat naturally increases 

 evaporation, and tends to make the leaves " flag " or droop. 



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