GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY PLANTS 87 



Ventilation is of primary importance at all times. Close houses 

 only when the outside temperature is too low to permit of airing. 



Carnations to Follow Chrysanthemums. Where Chrysan- 

 themums are grown in large numbers on benches it is sometimes 

 difficult to decide what should occupy the space vacated by them. 

 Carnations have been tried with successful results. Boxes with 

 easily removed sides and ends are placed close together in the field, 

 filled with suitable soil, and the plants, six or eight, according to the 

 width of the bench, put out in each box. On the approach of un- 

 farvorable weather the plants are given the protection of a frame 

 until the indoor space is ready for them. The bottoms of the boxes 

 are of stout material, and when placed side by side on the frame- 

 work of the bench they may either be laid on the old bench boards 

 or take their place. Soil is added after they are in position, to make 

 the surface level. If necessary, rested Roses may be substituted 

 for Carnations. 



Propagation 



Propagating House and Benches. The ideal propagating 

 house is the north part of a span-roofed house, with a partition of 

 boards, leaving a space of about 4/^ feet available for bench and 

 passageway. The latter need only be wide enough for one to move 

 about in comfortably. The floor should be made of concrete, so 

 that it can be kept scrupulously clean at all times. The length of 

 the house should, of course, vary with the needs of the establishment. 

 The bench should run close up to the side of the house and the front 

 part, or that nearest the passageway, nailed up with boards, with a 

 swinging door on leather hinges every few feet to increase or diminish 

 the temperature of the sand by allowing heat to escape. It is a good 

 plan to have one of the ends hotter than the other, not necessarily 

 for Carnations, but for cuttings of other plants. Valves should be 

 so arranged in the heating pipes of this part of the estabhshment 

 that the heat may be under perfect control to suit the various uses 

 to which it may be put. When a specially constructed propagating 

 house is not available, a part of an ordinary growing house, prefer- 

 ably the north side, should be selected for the purpose. The con- 

 ditions favorable to the process of rooting are : Sufficient humidity 

 to prevent the cuttings from wilting, and protection against the 

 sun's rays, which cause an evaporation of moisture from the leaves 

 of the cuttings greater than can be spared, owing to the inability 

 of the cutting to replace the loss quickly from the moisture in the 

 sand. 



