JANUARY GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY. 11 



over another season should be moved to outside to 

 ripen their wood in preparation for cutting back, and 

 the earlier in the season this is done, and cuttings of 

 desirable varieties struck, the better chance will they 

 have of forming good plants ; old plants not par- 

 ticularly required may be planted in the borders, or 

 thrown away at pleasure. Fuchsias must be syringed 

 twice a day and have moderate shade ; fine plants in 

 comparatively small pots will bo greatly benefited 

 with weak liquid manure every three or four days. 

 The stock must be propagated now in quantity, for 

 the next year's supply ; the smallest cuttings make 

 the best plants, and there is no need to cut to a joint. 

 A mild bottom heat will hasten the formation of 

 roots, but it is not needful, as if shut up in a cold 

 frame and kept shaded and regularly sprinkled they 

 will be well rooted in a fortnight. It is a saving of 

 time in the end to put all cuttings singly into pots at 

 this timo of the year, as they can be allowed to fill 

 the first pots with roots, so as to grow strong from 

 their first start. In preparing pots for the cuttings 

 use the smallest sixties or thumbs, put in a mixture 

 of turf and old dung over the crocks and fill up with 

 half sand and half leaf mould, in which the cuttings 

 will root as quickly as in sand alone at this season, 

 and have something to live upon while filling the 

 pots with roots. This is the best method for amateurs, 

 who are much away from home, as the single cuttings 

 require less care than when dibbled into sand only 

 in shallow pans. Hard-wooded Plants requiring a 

 shift this season must have it at once, or the time 

 will go by for them to derive full benefit from the 

 operation. The most important matter of all is to 

 secure good drainage, and to use the compost in as 

 rough a state as possible consistent with the size and 

 nature of the plant. Whenever the cultivator is in 

 doubt about the best soil for any hard-wooded plants, he 



